Namibia to create national strategy for the effective implementation of the African Free Trade Area
The country is in the process of developing a national strategy that will steer the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and enhance Namibia’s ability to achieve sustainable and inclusive export-led growth and exploit the opportunities offered by the agreement.
This was announced by the Minister of Industrialisation and Trade, Lucia Iipumbu at the official opening of the Bank of Namibia’s 21st Annual Symposium on 05 November.
The strategy will ascertain the measures and capacities required to take full advantage of markets within the context of the agreement, while providing the private sector with important entry points into the regional markets as well as alert the state to the required support to stakeholders.
“The strategy is designed and implemented taking into consideration gender, youth and other vulnerable groups. Furthermore, the strategy is cognizant of other key cross cutting issues such as the environment, climate change mitigation and the impact of technologies including ICT and e-commerce,” Iipumbu said.
Speaking the Symposium, Governor of the Bank of Namibia, Johannes Gawaxab said it is critical that the private sector, entrepreneurs that produce and drive trade are fully aware of the AfCFTA, so that they use it to guide their production decisions.
“We now have a great opportunity to position ourselves to exploit these opportunities on our own and in collaboration with partners,” Gawaxab said.
Currently, 54 out of 55 African Union member states have signed the AfCFTA, with only 31 countries having ratified it. It is expected to come into effect in January 2021.
