VICE- PRESIDENT, Dr Philip Mpango has underscored the need of taking swift action among African countries to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
Elaborating, he pointed out that the areas in particular should include removing barriers to the movement of people and goods, dealing with transport and power challenges, adding that they are critical for better trade and dealing with financial infrastructure that is currency convertibility exchange.
Dr Mpango made the remark, while representing President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the opening of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) for the year 2022 held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Wednesday.
He said African countries can benefit more from the free trade zone of AfCFTA by building a common regional infrastructure that would help to facilitate trade and transport.
The VP said Tanzania is already taking the lead by executing the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project from the sea port of Dar es Salaam to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through Burundi.
“There is a need to cooperate in the use of existing resources in Africa such as the gas in Tanzania that can meet the needs of neighboring countries, and thus promote the use of alternative energy that will protect the environment,” he said
Dr Mpango also called on African countries to explore the great opportunity of fertile land to transform the continent into a food basket.
“I think there is a great opportunity for us to use of good fertile land we are blessed with to transform Africa into a food basket region,” Dr Mpango said.
He also used the platform to welcome investors into Tanzania and assured them of a friendly environment as well as the wealth of resources that the country is endowed with.
For his part, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) who is the coordinator of the Forum, Dr Akinwumi Adesina said that Africa is the only continent with certainty in investment, due to the presence of sufficient raw materials, natural gas and solar energy.
He said statistics show that by the year 2050, Africa is estimated to have a quarter of the world’s population thus facilitating access to reliable markets and human resources.
Dr Adesina also mentioned other benefits found in Africa, including the wealth of lithium and cobalt minerals used in the production of vehicle’s electricity adding that AfCFTA is the largest zone in the world that connects the economy of more than 3.3 trillion US dollars.
The Africa Investment Forum in Africa is coordinated by AfDB in collaboration with the founders of the Forum and aims at bringing together investors, the private sector and the public sector to set strategies to finance sustainable projects.
The forum includes heads of state and government from various African countries, businessmen, heads of institutions and international organisations.
