Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Algeria call for consultation to implement AfCFTA

The current member-countries of Arab Maghreb Union – Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania and Algeria – require the immediate implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) strategies to ensure national and regional interests and priorities are taken into account.

Representatives of Arab Maghreb Union countries took part in the joint Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) (Office for North Africa) – Arab Maghreb Union Seminar on the potential impact of the AfCFTA on Maghreb Economies. The representatives of the five countries also called on the Arab Maghreb Union’s General Secretariat to provide them with enhanced support by facilitating joint discussions in preparation for the realization of the African single market.

The seminar on the Potential Impact of the AFCFTA on Maghreb Economies was held between November 11 and 12 in Morocco’s capital, Rabat with the participation of Arab Maghreb Union Secretary General Taïeb Baccouche, Mauritanian Minister of Commerce and Tourism Sid'Ahmed Ould Mohamed, AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry Albert Muchanga as well as the chief AfCFTA negotiators of the five Maghreb countries.

“Maghreb integration is a milestone in the regional integration process, and is now more relevant than ever in view of the similarity of development challenges, and the opportunities it represents in terms of growth and employment, given the subregion’s strategic position,” the Director of the ECA Office for North Africa, Lilia Hachem Naas said.

“We do not have a Maghreb strategy at the moment but we are determined to move forward to build one. This must happen before the next African Union Summit scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa next February,” insisted Arab Maghreb Union Secretary General Taïeb Baccouche at the end of the meeting. Even The Mauritanian Minister of Trade and Tourism, Sid'Ahmed Ould Mohamed encouraged Maghreb countries to finalize their tariff concessions, trade in services offers and to complete the first implementation milestones.