MULENGA CALLS ON AfCFTA S.G. MENE

By Hector Simfukwe

Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister CHIPOKA MULENGA has paid a courtesy call on Africa Continental Free Trade Area secretary general WAMKELE MENE, in Accra, Ghana.

During the meeting, the two exchanged notes on how Zambia can successfully implement the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Mr. MENE commended Mr. CHIPOKA for Zambia’s position on Intellectual Property Rights including other contributions made during the 8th Council of Ministers Meeting.

He noted the importance of Intellectual Property Rights in addressing some of the continent’s current vulnerabilities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. MENE stated that the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Adjustment Facility Fund will provide a mechanism for Member States to access financial and technical resources to implement the Agreement and mitigate the near-term disruptions and associated cos
s.

He revealed that the Agreement for the Facility will be signed on 8th February, 2022 and will commence with a funding of ONE billion dollars to support countries that may suffer revenue losses during the implementation process.

In response, Mr. MULENGA emphasized the importance of relaxing the Rules of Origin to allow other economies to grow as other African economies have done.

He said Zambia has an ambition of value addition on all its raw materials and to achieve this, there must be flexibility.

The Minister alluded to the importance of Industrialisation and how it has been instrumental in economic development.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Zambian High Commission in Accra Ghana.

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