Sierra Leone Hosts Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement Conference
Sierra Leone is hosting for the first time, the regional African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Conference since it was established by African heads of States in 2018. The African regional conference aimed to create a single continental market, will run from Tuesday October 14th to Friday at the Foreign Service Auditorium.
With the theme: From Policy to Practice, Accelerating Sierra Leone Implementation for Sustainable Economic Transformation, the four-day conference seeks to accelerate Sierra Leone’s readiness to trade under the AfCFTA by fostering policy alignment, strengthening private sector competitiveness, and building strategic partnerships that unlock regional and continental market opportunities, while promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Welcoming delegates from other African countries, the Chairman of the opening ceremony Buffy Bailor described the event as a new chapter in Africa’s trade story. By hosting the AfCfTA and launching a comprehensive Readiness Assessment, Sierra Leone was showing leadership, preparation and action, he said.
“This is no ordinary gathering;”, he went on, “what brings us together over these four days, represents Africa’s boldest economic vision – the African Continental Free Trade Area – and Sierra Leone’s determination to lead by example in its implementation”, he affirmed.
As Chair of the ECOWAS Heads of Authority, Sierra Leone carries the responsibility and privilege of setting standards for our region and continent, the chairman said.
He noted that despite the potential for trade and investment, without a proper preparation, aspiration means nothing without assessment. And policy means nothing without practice, hence the need for such a gathering.
“This is the first Regional AfCFTA Conference convened by any member state. We are not waiting for continental direction we are providing regional leadership,” he said.
Delivering a statement, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Kenye Ballay commended the delegations and heads of institutions across Africa for gracing such a historic conference. This according to her speaks not only to Sierra Leone’s national aspirations but to the collective urgency of Africa to leverage the AfCFTA as an instrument for sustainable economic transformation.
Minister Barlay encouraged all to deliberate on the future of the continent by moving from policy to practice in line with the theme.
Launching the Readiness and Assessment report, the Sierra Leone Minister of Trade and Industry Alpha Ibrahim Sesay said that the AfCFTA represents a transformative agenda that seeks to connect 1.4 billion people across 54 African countries, with a combined GDP of over $3.4 trillion.
The Minister said that AfCFTA is the largest and most ambitious trade integration initiative in the world that is focused on industrial growth, private sector competitiveness and continental market integration with structured implementation and opportunity for citizens.
“It is not merely a trade agreement; it is the continent’s most powerful economic unifier creating a single African market for goods and services, supported by the free movement of businesses persons and investments. The AfCFTA is projected to increase intra-African trade by over 50% lifting 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty and creating millions of jobs for Sierra Leone with a larger market, improved competitiveness and new opportunities for our farmers, manufacturers, service providers and youth entrepreneurs,” he said.
Sesay said that Sierra Leone remains committed to working closely with the Economic Community of West African States commission to ensure alignment between regional and continental commitments.
“The AfCFTA is not meant to replace ECOWAS; it builds upon it, strengthening our regional value chains and competitiveness as a bloc,” he said.
The Secretary General of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, His Excellency Wamkele Mene said that the mandate of AfCFTA is to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately US$3.4 trillion.
“The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063: The Africa we want, the African Union’s long-term development strategy for transforming the continent into a global powerhouse. The AfCFTA is to eliminate trade barriers and boost intra-Africa trade; to advance trade in value-added production across all service sectors of the African economy,” he said,
AfCFTA Secretary General H.E Wamkele Mene said the AfCFTA will contribute to the establishment of regional value chains in Africa to enable investment and job creation as the implementation of the AfCFTA has the potential to foster industrialization, job creation and investment, thus enhancing the competitiveness of Africa in the medium to long term.
