BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – Eight months after the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the first pan-African agreement of its kind, Germany has donated 1.6 million euros to UNCTAD, to help the UN's trade and development body work with African partners to implement the landmark continental pact on cross-border commerce. "This is a big new step forward in the economic development of Africa," said Ambassador Hans-Peter Jugel, Germany’s deputy envoy to the United Nations in Geneva, adding that the African Union had sought UNCTAD's support to meet the aims of the AfCFTA. "We will observe its effects closely. We trust in UNCTAD’s competences and expertise in making trade facilitation operational," Jugel added. The donation comes two months ahead of Germany beginning its two-year term as  non-permanent member of the 15-nation UN Security Council. "Germany is already a leading supporter of UNCTAD's work. This fresh funding is a clear sign of the country’s commitment not only to making trade work for development, but also to multilateralism. That sends a strong signal in challenging times," UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Isabelle Durant said. "The projects that Germany is backing will play a key role in helping Africa meet the new trade objectives that the continent has set itself," she added. UNCTAD provides policy advice and technical cooperation to help poorer countries reap more benefits from the global economy, and regional integration is a key part of that process. The German funding, which runs from November 2018 to December 2020, focuses...

The signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in March 2018 in Kigali set the stage for the integration of the African continent into a single market. ECA Deputy Executive Secretary, Giovanie Biha, said; “Despite improved political representation, cultural barriers are still impeding gender equality and societal change on the continent.” She said there was need for experts to ensure the AfCFTA opened up new opportunities for women, and help them integrate more fully into productive, high-paid sectors of the economy. “It is crucial to ensure that all its citizens, especially women, are involved in its implementation. What is needed is to strengthen women’s participation in trade policies and their implementation across the continent,” said Ms. Biha. The BBC’s Lerato Mbele moderated and set the stage for a great conversation by lauding Ethiopia, Rwanda and Seychelles for achieving gender equity in their cabinets and ensuring women held top decision-making posts across the board. “The primary aim of our discussion tonight is about how Eastern Africa can harness the AfCFTA for greater gender equality. As we heard during the day, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have ratified the AfCFTA. It is crucial that the momentum behind the AfCFTA is sustained in a way to improve gender equality,” she said. Biha made the remark in Kigali, Rwanda on Tuesday night at a high-level roundtable dinner on ‘Harnessing the AfCFTA for Gender equality’ during the 22nd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) for Eastern Africa. To ensure that women are...

Enhancement of policies, skills and access to information for women are some of the key issues that were brought to light during a round-table dinner held in Kigali Tuesday under the theme, ‘Harnessing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for gender equality.’ The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement seeks to turn the continent into a single trading bloc which would significantly improve economic growth across Africa. The signing of the AfCFTA in March this year set the stage for the integration of the African continent into a single market and it requires participating countries to remove tariffs from 90 per cent of goods from other partner states, allowing free access to goods and services across the continent. It is in this light that officials at the gathering shared lessons and experiences and explored how best Eastern Africa could prepare to strengthen its women’s participation in trade policies and their implementation. The agreement is yet to open up new economic opportunities, but what can be done to ensure that it is gender responsive?  That was one of the key questions. Rose Rwabuhihi, the Chief Gender Monitor at Gender Monitoring Office, says there is need to ensure safety if the agreement is to be gender responsive. “Women are not as safe; crossing borders for trade may not always be safe for them for many reasons,” Rwabuhihi said. “Free movement needs safety.” “When there is safety, people will move much more. Mobility is linked to the safety of countries and the...

Twelve African countries -- Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Guinea, Rwanda, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland and Uganda -- have ratified the agreement to establish the single continental market, according to the African Union (AU). Ten more ratifications are needed for the AfCFTA to come into force and make Africa the largest free trade area in terms of the number of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization. The AfCFTA could create an African market of over 1.2 billion people with a gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars, the AU said. At a panel session at the opening of the three-day meeting, the 22nd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts of the Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa, finance and trade ministers from Rwanda and Uganda said speedy ratification and conclusion of all procedures required to establish the free trade area should be priority of economic development agendas among African economies. "More efforts are needed to ratify the agreement and implement it in order to drive economic transformation in Africa," said Ugandan Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Amelia Kyambadde. Africa must seize the momentum at hand to focus on how to speed up the ratification and to rally support for free trade and related instruments, said Rwandan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Uzziel Ndagijimana. AfCFTA symbolizes the progress toward the ideal of African unity and there is an urgent need to move forward with its effective implementation, he said. Ugandan...

With an average growth rate of 6.7% between 2013 and 2017 - double the African average - East Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, accompanied by rapid social improvements. Average life expectancy has increased by 5.3 years over the past decade, with some countries registering historically unprecedented gains (e.g. 8.5 years in Kenya and Rwanda). “There are of course still many challenges – chief amongst them being the need for faster job creation for the rapidly growing population – but on balance progress has been impressive. Life expectancy is a good general indicator of living standards, and the pace of change is one of the fastest in history”, said Andrew Mold, the Acting Director of the ECA in Eastern Africa, presenting an overview of economic and social developments in the region at the 22nd meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts, ICE. The three-day meeting takes place in Kigali, Rwanda, and gathers more than 250 economic stakeholders and decision makers of 14 countries in East Africa. In 2019, the region is expected to grow at 6.2%, thanks to sustained public and private investment, renewed optimisim in the Horn of Africa, and the opening up of new trade opportunities under the AfCFTA. Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana noted that “ In many aspects, the Eastern Africa region has been leading continental trends – be it in terms of economic progress but also social – with life expectancy and other indicators improving a...

Developed in partnership between the East African Community and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Energy Security Policy Framework to strengthen energy supply and affordability as well as help implement the Sustainable Development Goal 7 on ensuring universal access on clean, affordable, sustainable and reliable energy. Andrew Mold, the acting Director of the Office for Eastern Africa at ECA, said that deforestation, rising wood and charcoal prices, as well as increasing imports of oil and gas are some “symptoms” of worsening energy insecurity in the subregion. The framework will facilitate regional collaboration to collectively improve energy security and address these challenges, he said, speaking at ECA’s annual meeting for the subregion, which, this year, focuses on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Greater investments in energy infrastructure is also critical to improve intra-continental trade, take the Free Trade Area forward and aid countries’ development, according to ECA. Studies by the Economic Commission show that the lack of secure electricity supply undermines the pace of growth by up to 5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, “over reliance” on fossil fuels, combined with a lack of refining capacity, petroleum imports amount to as much as 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in East African countries. At the same time, very high dependence on biomass, such as charcoal or firewood, for energy needs is resulting in rapid deforestation and creating long-term risks to the security and sustainability of the energy supply. The Framework,...

Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has in its new report named east Africa as one of the fastest growing regions in the World Particularly in Africa. Presenting the Economic outlook report during the 22nd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) in Kigali, Rwanda, the Acting Director of ECA in charge of Eastern Africa, Andrew Mold said despite many challenges the region is experiencing, Eastern region has made key progress especially in Improving the life Expectancy which has increased by 5.3 years over the past decades. The region’s growth rate according to the director stands at 6.3% between 2013-2017 which doubles the African average. “There are of course still many challenges – chief amongst them being the need for faster job creation for the rapidly growing population but on balance, progress has been impressive. Life expectancy is a good general indicator of living standards, and the pace of change is one of the fastest in history,” said Andrew. The three-day meeting taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, gathers more than 250 economic stakeholders and decision makers of 14 countries in East Africa.( Burundi, Comoros, D.R. Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.) By 2019, the region is expected to grow at 6.2%, due to sustained public and private investment, renewed optimism and the opening up of new trade opportunities under the AfCFTA. Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana noted that “ In many aspects, the Eastern Africa region...

Kigali, Rwanda, 20 November - A transformative African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) requires the full inclusion and participation of the continent’s women, says Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Deputy Executive Secretary, Giovanie Biha. Speaking Tuesday night at a high-level roundtable dinner on “Harnessing the AfCFTA for Gender Equality” that was co-organized by ECA and TradeMark Africa (TMA), Ms. Biha said continental integration was pivotal to Africa’s economic transformation, but it could only be done with the full inclusion of women, both in the formal and informal sectors. She said the signing of the AfCFTA in March 2018 set the stage for the integration of the African continent into a single market. “It is crucial to ensure that all its citizens, especially women, are involved in the continental free trade area implementation,” said Ms. Biha, adding the AfCFTA will open new opportunities for women, and help them integrate more fully into productive, high-paid sectors of the economy. She said economies with better opportunities for women were more competitive and would benefit more from openness than economies that were less friendly to female participation. “Enhanced opportunities for women lead to improvements in human development outcomes, poverty reduction and accelerated rates of economic growth,” she added. TMA Chief Executive Officer, Frank Matsaert, for his part, said, “Research has shown that if women’s paid employment were raised to the same level as men’s, the pa capita income of 15 major economies would rise by 14% by 2020. Our work across East Africa is...

Kigali, Rwanda, 19 November - With an average growth rate of 6.7% between 2013 and 2017 - double the African average - East Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, accompanied by rapid social improvements. Average life expectancy has increased by 5.3 years over the past decade, with some countries registering historically unprecedented gains (e.g. 8.5 years in Kenya and Rwanda). “There are of course still many challenges – chief amongst them being the need for faster job creation for the rapidly growing population – but on balance progress has been impressive. Life expectancy is a good general indicator of living standards, and the pace of change is one of the fastest in history”, said Andrew Mold, the Acting Director of the ECA in Eastern Africa, presenting an overview of economic and social developments in the region at the 22nd meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts, ICE. The three-day meeting takes place in Kigali, Rwanda, and gathers more than 250 economic stakeholders and decision makers of 14 countries in East Africa. In 2019, the region is expected to grow at 6.2%, thanks to sustained public and private investment, renewed optimisim in the Horn of Africa, and the opening up of new trade opportunities under the AfCFTA. Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana noted that “ In many aspects, the Eastern Africa region has been leading continental trends – be it in terms of economic progress but also social – with...

The East African Community (EAC) legal and policy framework for agricultural development has been established, a move hailed as a great leap forward in realising food security in the region. The framework is provided for under several key documents; the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC, EAC Customs Union, and EAC Common Market Protocol among others. In particular, Article 45 (3) (b) and (c), of the EAC Common Market Protocol stipulates cooperation in Agriculture and Food Security, especially in plant breeding and promotion of production and distribution of quality seeds. Further, Article 38 (c) of the EAC Customs Union provides for cooperation in other areas including Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures. The provisions call for existence not only of a specific harmonized policy to address the seed sub-sector, but also create the dire need for a harmonized legal framework. Officials said the new legal arrangement would be a catalyst for intra-regional trade as well as a major step towards availability of quality seeds by farmers. This framework is in conformity with the initiatives to harmonize regional trade in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC) including the Africa Food Security Framework of the African Union (AU), and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). However, the regulatory capacity in the EAC to meet both international and regional standards as well as integration of other regional efforts to promote trade is still low. The EAC policy recognizes the need for appropriate regional...