President Cyril Ramaphosa formally handed over South Africa’s instruments of ratification of the African Free Continental Trade Area (AfCFTA) on the sidelines of the 32nd African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday.
This follows parliament’s ratification of the AfCFTA agreement in December last year. The agreement will come into effect once 22 member states have deposited their instruments of ratification. To date 17 countries have ratified the agreement.
Ramaphosa said that the AfCFTA agreement not only opened up a market of 1.2 billion people but also offered a great opportunity for the South African economy.
“It opens opportunities for economic development and infrastructure progress for all the other countries on the African continent. We are very pleased that the AU has seen it correct to move the continent in this direction so that all countries can progress economically and in other ways,” he said.
