The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) accords African countries a unique opportunity to promote inclusive growth and accelerate the achievement of both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063. One of the objectives of the AfCFTA is to “promote and attain sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality and structural transformation of the State Parties”. However, there remains the need for a better understanding of how the AfCFTA can promote and contribute to inclusive growth, given the vast socio-economic challenges the continent faces and rising inequalities between and within countries.
Joint research between the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) identifies opportunities for increasing intra-African trade, both under current tariff conditions and under AfCFTA tariff liberalization scenarios, and explores how it can help the continent develop sustainably and inclusively. Drawing on the joint publication, entitled Unlocking Regional Trade Opportunities in Africa for a More Sustainable and Inclusive Future, UNCTAD’s flagship Economic Development in Africa Report (EDAR) 2021, aims to equip African governments and development partners with knowledge on how the AfCFTA can be beneficial for inclusive growth and help realize Africa’s untapped export potential.
The webinar represents a forum to discuss how intra-African trade can help to progress towards sustainable development, and to zoom into methodological aspects and key findings of the export potential assessment.
The webinar will be attended by UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) economists, policy makers and delegates from member states, academia, and development institutions.
