Johannesburg - Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) deputy minister Alvin Botes says that South Africa is gearing up to pump about R2 trillion by 2028 in an effort to increase intra-Africa trade, which currently stands at 17% of total trade.
Botes said this during his speech at the Sona debate, which took place earlier this week, with specific attention given to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is the world’s largest free trade area, bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
"Mr President (Cyril Ramaphosa), because of your leadership, in 2021, we exported more to Africa, R385 billion, than to the European Union's R355 billion."
"The AfCFTA would cover a market of 1.2 billion Africans with a combined GDP of $22.5 trillion; it would increase intra-African trade by up to 52.3% and expand the size of Africa’s economy to up to $29 trillion by 2050, as estimated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa," said Botes.
Recently, the AfCFTA secretariat, in partnership with the World Bank, has carried out regulatory audits on trade in services for all African countries.
"The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area Trade in Services Regulatory Audit Reports is an exciting development for Africa and a major milestone in establishing Africa as a major regional trader in services. With this important step, Africa is taking leadership in ensuring fairness and transparency when it comes to trade under the AfCFTA," said an AfCFTA statement.
The report identified restrictions on market access and national treatment affecting the supply of services into the country as defined in the AfCFTA Trade in Services Protocol.
"The summary is accompanied by detailed descriptions that thoroughly document each trade restriction and its legal reference. For example, one of the areas where this data is particularly useful is in the tourism sector," added the statement.
The Star