COMMUNITY FREE TRADE ZONE
Given the major concerns expressed by ECCAS Heads of State and Government regarding continental integration, and the current state of affairs, which reveals that only four of the 11 countries are compliant. The Commission has been instructed to take the necessary steps to prepare and submit a draft roadmap for the operationalisation and launch of the free trade area by July 2025 at the 25thordinary session scheduled for September 2024.
With this in mind, a regional capacity-building workshop on the rules of origin of the AfCFTA and the Central African Free Trade Area was held from 15 to 17 July. The main aim of the workshop was to encourage ECCAS members to work together to operationalise their free trade area, so as to capitalise on the potential advantages of the AfCFTA with its 160 million consumers.
(Source: Cameroon Business Today N°370 of Wednesday 17 to Tuesday 23 July 2024)