AfCFTA Two Years of Progress with Sudan’s Absence

By: Idress Hamza

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the Flagship Projects of Agenda 2063 Africa’s development frameworks. The AfCFTA was approved by the 18th ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Governments, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012 which adopted the decision to establish an African Continental Free Trade Area and the Action Plan for Boosting intra-African trade as key initiatives whose implementation would promote socio-economic growth development. The AfCFTA aims at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

The objectives of the AfCFTA :

• Create a single market for goods, services, facilitated by movement of persons in order to deepen the economic integration of the African continent and in accordance with the Pan African Vision of “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa” enshrined in Agenda 2063;
• Create a liberalized market for goods and services through successive rounds of negotiations;
• Contribute to the movement of capital and natural resources and facilitate investments building on the initiatives and developments being undertaken by the State Parties and RECs;
• Lay the foundation for the establishment of a Continental Customs Union at a later stage;
• Promote and attain sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality and structural transformation of the State Parties;
• Enhance the competitiveness of the economies of State Parties within the continent and the global market;
• Promote industrial development through diversification and regional value chain development, agricultural development and food security;
• Resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships and expedite the regional and continental integration processes.

Recently  Sudanese government are making effort for Sudan resume its membership in AU , the negotiations are on pending with Cairo  Workshop was concluded .

Sudan this year has acquired the IGAD Presidency  , I called on the upcoming government stands and making Sudanese international relation balanced with the world , but should focused more on internal partners like ( AU , IGAD and COMESA ) .

Sudan in 2019 has signed the African Continental Free Trade Area , but yet not been ratified the AfCFTA agreement  and in this  its second year of AfCFTA  making progress without  , If Sudan completed it process would became attractive market for the bloc trade , since Sudan  enjoying  vast lands for agriculture with strategic location and young gorwing population , the upcoming government of should do more in this file and share Africa 2063 agenda .

Sudan has long time disappearance from AU Leadership approximately one decade  ,while other African Countries chaired the AU several  times .