Following nearly 40 years of negotiations and discussions, African leaders will meet in Kigali, Rwanda tomorrow (Tuesday) to sign the agreement that will launch the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

One of the flagship projects of the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063, the FTA aims to improve intra-continental trade and further entrench trade integration. The AfCFTA agreement is set to become the largest free trade area created since the formation of the World Trade Organisation

It is being driven forward along with other key related initiatives such as the Single African Air Transport Market and the African Passport.

According to an African union press statement, the launch will be convened by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

AU chairperson Moussa Faki said: “AfCFTA will make Africa one of the largest economies in the world and enhance its capacity to interact on equal terms with other international economic blocs.”

He pointed out that intra-Africa trade currently stood at around 16% compared to 19% intra-regional trade in Latin America, 51% in Asia, 54% in North America and 70% in Europe.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimates that the AfCFTA has the potential to boost intra-Africa trade by 53% by eliminating import duties and non-tariff barriers.