BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- In a pivotal move towards reinforcing exports and assuming a leading role in Africa’s development, Algeria has officially entered a new phase in its strategy for accelerating economic integration in Africa. This involves the formal adoption of the Guided Trade initiative within the framework of the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
This announcement was made in Algiers by the Minister of Commerce and Export Promotion, Tayeb Zitouni, during the economic forum on the Guided Trade initiative. With this membership, economic operators can now conduct trade with their counterparts in partner countries of this initiative without customs constraints, aligning with the AfCFTA agreement. The minister encouraged Algerian business leaders to immediately capitalize on the numerous advantages offered by this new framework for intra-African trade.
The primary objective, as emphasized by Minister Zitouni, is to promote non-hydrocarbon exports, contributing to the realization of the continental free trade zone agreement aimed at significantly increasing trade volume among African nations.
Launched in October 2022 in Accra, Ghana, the Guided Trade initiative currently includes eight member countries from five different regions of the continent: Ghana, Cameroon, Rwanda, Mauritius, Tanzania, Tunisia, Egypt, and Kenya. Algeria has now joined this limited circle, opening new avenues to expand its trade into African markets through an initiative seen as the initial core of AfCFTA. The initiative provides preferential benefits to promote exports on highly competitive terms among the eight participating countries.
The Guided Trade initiative serves as a pilot approach to tangibly implement the strategy for stimulating intra-African trade. It allows testing the operational, institutional, legal, and trade policy environment in the effective establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
This initiative presents real competitive advantages to businesses by easing tariff barriers for a list of at least nine product categories, including batteries, ceramic tiles, sugar, pasta, processed meat products, dried fruits, and more. The goal is to stimulate trade among member countries, foster the development of continental value chains, and accelerate economic integration in Africa.
In a meeting with the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, Wamkele Mene, Minister Zitouni highlighted that “specific lists of tariff positions subject to dismantling within the framework of AfCFTA are ready, following their development with all relevant sectors in Algeria, in line with the acceleration of this continental space and in accordance with the instructions of the President of the Republic to encourage intra-African trade.”
Wamkele Mene praised “Algeria’s efforts over the past four years to accelerate AfCFTA procedures by joining continental initiatives and opening up to the African market through banks and permanent showrooms for Algerian products in Mauritania and Senegal, as well as opening air and sea routes to several capitals on the continent.”
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Recently honored with the Media Leadership Award from the Minister of Communication, Mohamed Laâgab, Dzair Tube continues to shape the landscape of Algerian digital news, maintaining a position of influence and impact in the media industry.
