ECOWAS member states would be unable to see the biggest African free trade agreement happen this year on July 1 due to the outbreak of the covid-19 globally.
“It is obviously not possible to commence trade as we had intended on 1 July under the current circumstances,” Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, said during a conference call.
The secretary-General also disclosed that African governments do not have the resources to launch the same type of economic stimulus packages that the United States and Europe are putting forward to mitigate the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, intra-African trade could serve the same purpose.
“That’s our stimulus package. That’s how we’re going to get back on track as Africa.”
The 55-nation continental free-trade zone would create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc with 1.3 billion people across Africa and constitute the largest new trading bloc since the World Trade Organization formed in 1994 when successful.
