The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement expects several ratifications from member countries following Angola's deposit of its ratification instrument with the African Union last week.
This makes it the 30th country to become a state party to the agreement. The Angolan move comes less than two months before the January 1 2021 deadline for the start of trading based on the AfCFTA agreement, raising hopes that more countries will follow Angola's lead before the end of the year.
All eyes are now on the 24 signatory countries that have yet to ratify the treaty: Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Zambia. Eritrea remains the only country that has not even signed the agreement.
It entered into force on 30 May 2019, after it was ratified by 22 countries – the minimum number required by the treaty. Trading was earlier scheduled to start on 1 July this year but was postponed for six months owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The AfCFTA aims to create the world's largest free trade area with the potential that brings together more than 1.2 billion people with a GDP of over $2.5 trillion and usher in a new era of development. It has the potential to generate a range of benefits through economy of scale, trade creation, structural transformation, productive employment, and poverty reduction.