Vice-president signs accord establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area |23 March 2018

Vice-President Vincent Meriton has, on behalf of the Seychelles government, signed the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

This took place during the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union that was held on March 21, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, expressly for that purpose.

The Seychelles delegation at the Summit was led by Mr Meriton himself, who is also the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

In his address to the Summit, the vice-president noted how the AfCFTA echoes “our commitments towards African trade integration, building into Agenda 2063 for a more prosperous Africa, based on inclusive growth and sustainable development … This is especially important for us, small island African states who face the ongoing realities of limited resources and small market size”.

The AfCFTA brings together 55 countries, with a combined population of more than 1 billion people and a GDP of more than 3.4 trillion US dollars. This will provide opportunities for countries like Seychelles to increase their manufacturing base through the creation of regional value chains and the provision of a larger market size for the private sector, in both goods and services. The instrument which was signed by 44 countries, will come into force once it has been ratified by 22 member states, following which, only the countries having ratified it will benefit from its provisions.

Vice-President Meriton was accompanied at the Summit by David Pierre, Seychelles’ ambassador accredited to the AU, Cillia Mangroo, principal secretary for Trade, and Messrs Marco Larsen and Terry Rose from the department of Foreign Affairs.