ECA and AU Convene Expert Group Meeting to Boost Intra-African Trade

The meeting aims to evaluate and improve the implementation of the Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) Action Plan, ensuring its alignment with the transformative goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

In a significant move towards enhancing Africa’s economic integration, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union (AU) are hosting an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on June 19, 2024, in Douala, Cameroon. The meeting aims to evaluate and improve the implementation of the Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) Action Plan, ensuring its alignment with the transformative goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Trade integration is a crucial driver for inclusive growth and economic development across Africa. Despite the continent’s vast potential, Africa's share in global exports remains at a modest 3%, underscoring the need for increased intra-African trade and industrialization. Currently, intra-African exports and imports stand at 17.8% and 14.6% respectively, which is significantly lower than the levels observed in Europe and Asia.

Recognizing this untapped potential, the AU Assembly decided to establish the AfCFTA during its 18th Ordinary Session in January 2012. The AfCFTA aims to create a unified African market, promoting seamless trade in goods and services, enhancing Africa’s global trade position, and driving sustainable socio-economic development.

While the AfCFTA has made considerable progress, with 47 out of 54 signatories ratifying the agreement as of April 2024 and trading commencing on January 1, 2021, the BIAT Action Plan's implementation has been limited.

The Douala EGM at Krystal Palace Hotel will review the draft report titled “Framework for Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT), Ten-Years After: Progress, Implementation Challenges, and Implications for the AfCFTA.” Experts, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and other stakeholders will provide insights to enrich the report, ensuring robust analysis and sound recommendations.

The BIAT framework identifies seven pivotal clusters: Trade Policy, Trade Facilitation, Productive Capacity, Trade-Related Infrastructure, Trade Finance, Trade Information, and Factor Market Integration. These clusters focus on integrating intra-African trade into national strategies, involving the private sector in policymaking, enhancing food products and services, simplifying trade regulations, reducing transit times, optimizing border posts, and integrating border management. Despite significant strides in implementing the AfCFTA, information on BIAT's domestication and implementation at regional and national levels remains scarce.

Participants at the meeting will include representatives from RECs, the African Union Commission, the AfCFTA Secretariat, the African Development Bank (AfDB), Afreximbank, academia, and the private sector. This assembly aims to bolster cooperation and provide a strategic roadmap for accelerating intra-African trade, ensuring that the continent can fully realize its economic potential.