By Landing Ceesay
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, and Employment conducted a sensitization workshop on Tuesday aimed at raising awareness among journalists, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) regarding the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The workshop sought to enhance understanding of AfCFTA protocols within these groups, equipping them to effectively advocate for and monitor the implementation of these protocols in The Gambia.
This initiative also aimed to foster collaboration among various stakeholders to ensure that the benefits of AfCFTA are inclusive and equitable. By encouraging active engagement, the workshop emphasized the crucial role of these stakeholders in the implementation process of AfCFTA.
The AfCFTA Agreement represents one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by the African Union, advancing the African Regional Integration Project in alignment with Agenda 2063. It is designed to boost African trade, promote economic growth, drive structural transformation, and industrialize African economies, thereby increasing productivity, creating jobs, and enhancing the value of exports across the continent.
During the event, Mr. Abdoulie Jammeh, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, highlighted the Ministry’s commitment to collaborating with NGOs, CSOs, and the media in building their capacities. This collaboration is essential for fostering a comprehensive understanding of AfCFTA protocols and ensuring that the implementation process is inclusive and effective.
DPS Jammeh underscored the significance of the AfCFTA Agreement for The Gambia, noting that it would facilitate regional integration of African businesses and enable them to tap into global and regional supply chains. He also mentioned that The Gambia has been actively participating in negotiations at both the ECOWAS and AfCFTA levels to address unresolved issues related to the Protocol on Trade in Goods, the Protocol on Trade in Services, and phase two protocols concerning Investment, Competition, and Intellectual Property Rights.
The official implementation of the AfCFTA started effective 1st January 2021 and as part of the preparation to ensure the effective commencement of trade under the agreement, the Government of The Gambia has undertaken certain initiatives to consolidate its preparedness. This includes the formulation of the AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy through the technical support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
“The main objective of the Strategy is to leverage deeper integration within Africa to maximize welfare gains and food security, boost trade and investment, and support structural transformation and industrialization to enhance employment and business opportunities for The Gambia’s growing population. The Strategy is therefore the national strategic framework for the implementation of the AfCFTA in The Gambia, and it identifies priority actions that will be undertaken by the government over 10 years from 2020 to 2030 to effectively realize the potential benefits of the AfCFTA,” Mr. Jammeh informed the participants.
To ensure effective participation, DPS Jammeh revealed that during the negotiations and implementation of the AfCFTA, The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, and Employment has established a National AfCFTA Implementation Committee to serve as a high-level Inter-Ministerial Committees comprising MDAs, Private Sector, and Civil Society.
DPS Jammeh asserted that the Committee is designed to provide technical support and promote high-level political oversight and coordination relating to AfCFTA negotiations and implementation in The Gambia.
He said the Committee is also required to undertake sensitization to raise awareness among the regulatory authorities, including the customs, standards, and immigration authorities as well as raising awareness among economic operators including producers, exporters, importers, the logistics industry, and trade support institutions on the AfCFTA.
“Under this Committee, four Thematic Technical Working Groups were established to support both the ongoing AfCFTA negotiations and during the implementation of the Agreement. Recently, The Gambia has, also, expressed interest in joining the second pilot of the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (GTI). GTI is a solution-oriented approach that aims to facilitate trade between interested state parties by connecting businesses and products for export and import to help kickstart commercially meaningful trade under the AfCFTA preferences,” Mr. Jammeh further told the participants.
DPS Jammeh highlighted that the primary goals of the GTI are to showcase the effectiveness of the legal framework governing AfCFTA instruments and to gather feedback on how well the legal and institutional systems are functioning in the participating countries.
He also informed the gathering that his Ministry is actively engaging with businesses through focused awareness campaigns to facilitate and support The Gambia’s involvement in the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (GTI).”The Ministry is thus committed to working closely with partners and key stakeholders to build and strengthen The Gambia’s institutional, policy, and regulatory frameworks to enhance the business environment as well as support businesses, through the right policies and programmes, to compete and integrate into the African market created by the AfCFTA,” he said.
The establishment of the AfCFTA is a key initiative of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, “The Africa We Want,” which serves as the strategic framework for transforming Africa into a leading global economic force.
After 44 African nations signed the agreement on March 21, 2018, it officially came into effect on May 30, 2019, following the required 22 ratifications or accessions. Trading under the agreement began on January 1, 2021.
The Gambia ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on April 16, 2019, and has recently shown interest in joining the second phase of the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) to enhance trade among member states.
The Government of The Gambia has also actively engaged in the ongoing negotiations to ensure the effective implementation of the AfCFTA.