
CAPE TOWN - The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Bulelani Magwanishe attended the 6th African Union Ministers of Trade (AMOT) meeting in Dakar, Senegal to receive an update from senior trade officials on the progress of outstanding negotiations of the AfCFTA as per the mandate of the AU Extraordinary Summit of Heads of States and Governments in March 2018
The meeting was attended by the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Ministers. Notably, SACU comprises of five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and the Kingdom of eSwatini.
The AfCFTA is an opportunity for Africa to boost intra-Africa trade and attract investment.
As a development integration approach, the AfCFTA seeks to address Africa’s current productive constraints and dependence on raw materials.
It also seeks to alleviate the infrastructure deficit in Africa. At the meeting, the legally scrubbed Annexes of the Protocols to the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA and the disciplines on the modalities for Tariff Liberalisation was discussed.