AfCFTA Offers Unique Opportunity for Africa to Boost Regional Integration and Industrialization.

Addis Ababa: Innovative policies and robust partnerships are key for Africa to overcome the challenges facing the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), experts underscored. The experts made this remark at a Workshop on Modelling the Impact of AfCFTA on African Economies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They highlighted the importance of economic modelling in crafting evidence-based policies for the AfCFTA's successful implementation.According to Ethiopian News Agency, the workshop was organized virtually by the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division (MFGD) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on the theme 'Modelling the Impact of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) on African Economies.' In his opening remarks, Hopestone Chavula, Officer-In-Charge of the Macroeconomic Analysis Section of the MFGD, emphasized the significance of the AfCFTA, describing it as a platform for economic transformation.Chavula stated that AfCFTA provides Africa with a unique opportunity to strengthen regional integration, enhance industrialization, and reduce poverty while positioning the continent as a competitive player in the global economy. He stressed the importance of leveraging economic modelling to navigate uncertainties, align policies, and track progress toward a more integrated, resilient, and inclusive African economy, considering the challenges and opportunities associated with its implementation.The virtual event brought together economists, policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to explore how economic modelling could support the effective implementation of the AfCFTA and optimize its transformative potential. It served as a platform for dialogue, capacity-building, and collaboration, focusing on strengthening participants' ability to use advanced economic modelling tools to assess the AfCFTA's impact on African economies.Participants explored various scenarios, such as tariff reductions, infrastructure investments, and the removal of non-tari ff barriers, to understand the agreement's potential impacts across sectors, countries, and Regional Economic Communities (RECs). ECA expressed a commitment to supporting African countries in maximizing the potential of the AfCFTA through capacity-building, technical support, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders.