The African Free Trade Zone (AFTZ) is a

free trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cu ...

announced at the EAC-SADC-COMESA Summit on 22 October 2008 by the heads of

Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...

(SADC), the

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whic ...

(COMESA) and the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Buru ...

(EAC). The African Free Trade Zone is also referred to as the African Free Trade Area in some official documents and press releases. In May 2012 the idea was extended to also include

ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

ECCAS The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; french: Communauté Économique des États de l'Afrique Centrale, CEEAC; es, Comunidad Económica de los Estados de África Central, CEEAC; pt, Comunidade Económica dos Estados da Áfr ...

and AMU. In June 2015, at the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

Summit in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, negotiations were launched to create a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) with all 55 African Union states by 2017.

Signing

The leaders of the three AFTZ trading blocks, COMESA, EAC, and SADC, announced the agreement, with the aim of creating a single free trade zone to be named the African Free Trade Zone, consisting of 26 countries with a GDP of an estimated US$624bn (£382.9bn). It was hoped that the African Free Trade Zone agreement would ease access to markets within the AFTZ zone and end problems due to several of the member countries in the AFTZ belonging to multiple regional groups. The African Free Trade Zone announced at the EAC-SADC-COMESA Summit (also known the AFTZ Summit and Tripartite Summit) effectively is the realization of a dream more than a hundred years in the making, a trade zone spanning the length of African continent from Cape to Cairo, from North African

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

all the way to the southernmost tip of Africa in South Africa (

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

). The Cape to Cairo dream was envisioned by

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Bri ...

and other British imperialists in the 1890s and was expressed in different contexts and versions including, but not limited to, the following ideals: Cape to Cairo Road, Cape to Cairo Railway, Cape to Cairo Telegraph, and Cape to Cairo Trade Union. While other powers, notably Germany and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

had colonies or spheres of influence in the Cape to Cairo trade zone contemplated, the primary benefactor of the Cape to Cairo union would have been the Great Britain and

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. The biggest difference in the idea of the original Cape to Cairo zone and its current incarnation is that the African Free Trade Zone is the creation of African Countries for the mutual benefit and development of the AFTZ member countries, their peoples and the whole of continent of Africa rather than a trade zone for the benefit of Great Britain. Ultimately, it is hoped the AFTZ would serve as a key building block to

African Unity Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...

and the realization of a united Africa under the auspices of the

. Another important difference between the original and current ideal is that the AFTZ encompasses an area greater than the one even Cecil Rhodes could have imagine. The original Cape to Cairo idea in Cecil Rhodes' time and now under the AFTZ is a free trade zone spanning the whole continent from Cape Town in South Africa to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

in Egypt. Cecil Rhodes' Cape to Cairo would have involved at most a dozen countries. The current rendition of the Cape to Cairo zone actualized by the AFTZ encompasses most of Africa, almost half of the countries (26 out of 54), more than half of the production, trade, population, land mass and resources. If it actualizes its potential and becomes a truly integrated economic union, the AFTZ could actually rival any other economic union with its vast natural resources, huge markets, young population, and great technical know-how (mostly courtesy of SADC in general and the Republic of South Africa in particular). In addition to eliminating duplicative membership and the problem of member states also participating in other regional economic cooperation schemes and regional political and security cooperation schemes that may compete with or undermine each other, the African Free Trade Zone further aims to strengthen the AFTZ block's bargaining power when negotiating international deals. Analysts believe that the African Free Trade Zone agreement will help intra-regional trade and boost growth. The AFTZ is considered a major step in the implementation of the AEC, an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. The stated goals of the AEC organization include the creation of free trade areas, customs unions, a single market, a central bank, and a common currency thus establishing an economic and monetary union for the African Union.

The trade blocs

The three trade blocs that agreed to and make up the AFTZ, the COMESA, the EAC and the SADC, are already well-established in their own right and cover varying swathes of land, economic systems, political systems and a varied number of peoples (which includes Arabs in the North, multi-racial peoples in the East and South, including significant numbers of Africans of European descent, Asian Africans, including Indians, Chinese and other Asian groups as well as Colored Africans—mixed race Africans numbering millions in South Africa). Many of the membership of the three AFTZ member trade blocks overlap with several countries being a member of more than one of the AFTZ member trade blocks as well as a member of other alliances within and without the three trade blocks.

Historic significance of the AFTZ

The EAC-SADC-COMESA Summit is considered historic because for the first time, since the birth of the

, several key building blocks of the EAC have met on how to integrate territories and moving towards deepening and widening integration within the overall

Abuja Treaty The African Economic Community (AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. The stated goals of the organization include the creation of free trade ...

for the establishment of the AEC. Further, for the first time a truly transcontinental union came into being, ranging from the north to the south of the continent. The AFTZ (EAC, COMESA and SADC) currently have a combined population of 527 million and combined GDP of US$625 billion. In size and capacity, the AFTZ rivals most trade blocks. The SADC is the largest of the AFTZ member trade blocks and covers a population of some 248 million people and a zone whose cumulative GDP is $379bn in 2006. COMESA was established in 1994 as a replacement for the Preferential Trade Area. It includes 20 nations, with a combined GDP of US$286.7bn in 2006. Among its members are

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. The EAC, the smallest of the member trade blocks in terms of GDP, had a GDP of US$46.6bn in 2006.

Member states

The EAC-SADC-COMESA's African Free Trade Zone membership includes the following countries:

AFTZ Summit presidents

The AFTZ Summit, also referred to as the Tripartite Summit was opened and attended by six African heads of state representing the member trade groups. Attending the opening session on Wednesday were presidents

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

Kgalema Motlanthe Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe (; born 19 July 1949) is a South African politician who was South Africa's third president of South Africa, president between 25 September 2008 and 9 May 2009, following Thabo Mbeki's resignation. Thereafter, he was depu ...

of South Africa,

Jakaya Kikwete Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (born 7 October 1950) is a Tanzanian politician who was the fourth president of Tanzania, in office from 2005 to 2015. Prior to his election as president, he was the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2005 under hi ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

and Kenya's

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

Attendance of the AFTZ Tripartite Summit

The AFTZ Tripartite Summit was attended by the following Heads of State and Government: *

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

, President of the Republic of Uganda *

, President of the Republic of Kenya *

, President of the Republic of South Africa *

Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (born 7 October 1950) is a Tanzanian politician who was the fourth president of Tanzania, in office from 2005 to 2015. Prior to his election as president, he was the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2005 under hi ...

, President of the United Republic of Tanzania *

, President of the Republic of Rwanda *

Robert Gabriel Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the Z ...

, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe * Pakalitha Mosisili, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho *

Gabriel Ntisezerana Gabriel Ntisezerana is a Burundian politician who was Vice-President of Burundi from February 2007 to August 2010. Subsequently, he was President of the Senate of Burundi from August 2010 to August 2015. He is also a trained economist and banker. H ...

, Second Vice President of the Republic of Burundi * Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Swaziland. The following Plenipotentiaries represented the Heads of State and Government of the following countries: * Olivier Kamitatu Etshou, Minister of Planning, Democratic Republic of Congo; * Rifki Abdoulkader Bamakhrama Minister of Trade, and Industry, Republic of Djibouti; * Osman Mohamed, Minister of Economic Development, Arab Republic of Egypt * Ali Abd Alazziz Alsawi, Secretary General of Economy, Trade and Investment, Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya * Joyce Banda, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Malawi * Arvind Boolell, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Republic of Mauritius; * Antonion Fernando, Minister of Trade and Industry, Republic of Mozambique * Bradford Machila, Minister of Lands and Special Representative of His Honour the Vice President and Acting President of the Republic of Zambia * Joaquim Duarte da Costa David, Minister of Industry Republic of Angola * Neo D. Moroka, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of Botswana * Patrick Pillay, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Seychelles * Hassan Ibrahim Gadkarim, Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to Republic of Uganda, Republic of Rwanda and Republic of Burundi * Wilfried I. Emvula, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to the African Union and the Economic Commission of Africa, Republic of Namibia * Salih Omar Abdu, Ambassador of the State of Eritrea to Republic of Kenya, Republic of Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania * Denis Andriamandroso, Ambassador of the Republic of Madagascar to the Republic of South Africa * Ambassador Clifford Sibusiso Mamba, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Kingdom of Swaziland The following officials represented their organisations at the Tripartite Summit: * Erastus J.O. Mwencha, Vice Chairperson, African Union Commission; * Lalla Ben Barka; Deputy Executive Secretary, UNECA; * Mtchera J. Chirwa, African Development Bank; * Kasaija Apuuli, IGAD; and Ambassador

Liberata Mulamula Liberata Mulamula, ''née'' Rutageruka (born 1956) is a Tanzanian diplomat and politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation from April 2021 to October 2022. She was appointed by President Samia Suluhu, on ...

, Executive Secretary, International Conference on the Great Lakes Also in attendance were chief executive Officers of the * COMESA Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya, Secretary General of COMESA * EAC Amb. Juma Mwapachu * SADC Dr. Tomaz Augusto Salomao, Executive Secretary, SADC.

SA President on AFTZ

President

of South Africa speaking in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and R ...

, at a meeting of Africa's three regional economic communities, argues that the AFTZ is an important step in the integration of African economies and the eventually union of the continent. With the great uncertainty in the global economy following the food and energy price increases and, more recently, the upheavals in the financial markets, Motlanthe suggested that the advent of the AFTZ could not have been any more timely. While African and other developing countries had marginal influence over the decisions that had brought the international financial system to the brink of collapse, unjustifiably, the poor and vulnerable of these countries would bear the brunt of the economic downturn.

"It is imperative that effective remedial measures are developed to mitigate the negative impact of the crises, and developing countries must now be included in the governance of international financial institutions," Motlanthe said. At the same time, it was necessary to work towards a more equitable global trade regime that put the concerns of developing countries, including African countries, at its centre. He also urged that the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), the Eastern African Community (EAC), and Southern African Development Community (SADC), increase co-operation towards greater integration. "The process we embark upon today marks a historic step towards fulfilling our obligations under the African Union and the Abuja Treaty framework of continental integration, which recognises that Regional Economic Communities are the building-blocks for the African Economic Community." The time had come for Comesa, EAC and SADC to bring together their respective regional integration programmes to further enlarge their markets, unlock productive potential, increase the levels of intra-Africa trade, and enhance developmental prospects. "As a next step in expanding regional markets in Africa, the process we launch today will place us in a stronger position to respond effectively to intensifying global economic competition and will begin to overcome the challenges posed by multiple memberships of regional organisations. "Let us therefore take the necessary decisions to work systematically and with determination to establish a single free trade area that will weld together our three regions into one,"

References

{{African Union Free trade agreements Treaties concluded in 2008 Treaties of Angola Treaties of Botswana Treaties of Burundi Treaties of the Comoros Treaties of Djibouti Treaties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Treaties of Egypt Treaties of Eritrea Treaties of Ethiopia Treaties of Kenya Treaties of Lesotho Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of Madagascar Treaties of Malawi Treaties of Mauritius Treaties of Mozambique Treaties of Namibia Treaties of Rwanda Treaties of Seychelles Treaties of Eswatini Treaties of South Africa Treaties of the Republic of the Sudan (1985–2011) Treaties of Tanzania Treaties of Uganda Treaties of Zambia Treaties of Zimbabwe Economy of Africa Southern African Development Community East African Community Special economic zones