The Pan-Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) has
advanced plans to host its 2013 international conference of the African
Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Officials of PACCI confirmed to ITRealms that the event schedule
for November 28th and 29th 2013, Addis Ababa.
ITRealms also
recalls that in January 2012, at the 18th African Union (AU) Summit, themed
Boosting Intra-Africa Trade agreed on fast-tracking the establishment of a
Continental Free Trade Area (C-FTA) by 2017, even as it was recommended by the
African Union Ministers of Trade meeting held in December 2011 that PACCI
holds.
Between the AU Ministers of Trade at their 2010 meeting,
tasking the African Union Commission (AUC), with assistance from the United
Nation Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank
(AfDB), to undertake preparatory work that would support their proposal of a
Continental FTA, three key papers on boosting intra-African trade was developed
on “Issue paper on Boosting Intra-Africa Trade”, “Action Plan for Boosting
Intra African Trade” and “Draft Framework, Roadmap and Architecture for Fast
Tracking the C-FTA.”
The AU Trade Ministers officially endorsed these papers at
their December 2011 Meeting.
The papers set out a plan to boost trade by at least 25-30%
in the next 10 years and to establish the C-FTA by 2017.
The C-FTA will eliminate tariffs on substantially all
originating trade between C-FTA member states. Along with measures to further
reduce the cost of cross-border trade, it will not only help to increase
intra-African trade, but also to improve Africa’s competitiveness in the global
marketplace. Ministers have agreed to a number of provisions set out in the
Draft Framework, Roadmap and Architecture for Fast Tracking the C-FTA.
The Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry is working
with the African Trade Policy Center (ATPC) of the UNECA, the AUC, and other
partners; National and Regional Chambers of Commerce (RCC), Regional Economic
Communities (RECs), Business Councils among others, to strengthen Africa’s
capacity to advance the community’s economic well-being, and the general
welfare and prosperity of African businesses.
This conference is being organized in Addis Ababa to consult a range of African business stakeholders on the role business can play in building domestic political support for the Continental Free Trade Area (C-FTA).
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