ADDIS ABABA, 16 February, 2021 (TON): Along with the 1 January, 2021 launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area, three other regional blocs are accelerating the process of regional integration.

The council of ministers of the economic blocs Southern African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the East African Community (EAC) discussed among other topics, the draft guidelines of the three-part mechanism on safe movement in the region.

Altogether, 26 countries were involved when the agreement was signed in 2015 which means 625 million people and extends from the north to the south of Africa.

Ricardo de Abreu, the Angolan Minister of Transports, shares his insight on the goings-on.

"The free trade area aims at exactly that, to ensure that there is an increase in the volume of intercontinental trade, which is something that does not happen, therefore, not only here in this southern region but in the rest of the continent. Inter-African trade is very low, and not only because of the need for better infrastructure. The business professionals themselves and the economic players often seek solutions and opportunities much further away when the market is here, the market is next door."

The objective of the tripartite free trade agreement is the creation of a customs union that integrates the member states from Egypt up top all the way down to South Africa.