ALGIERS – Saturday, 16 December 2023 (APS) – Minister of Trade and Export Promotion, Tayeb Zitouni announced Saturday, in Algiers, the official accession of Algeria to the Guided Trade Initiative, as part of the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA).
Under this accession, economic operators can carry out trade with their counterparts in partner countries of the initiative without customs constraints, in accordance with the AfCFTA agreement, Zitouni said in a speech given at the economic forum on “the Guided Trade Initiative under the AfCFTA”, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Area, Wamkele Mene.
Zitouni urged the Algerian businessmen to benefit as of today from the advantages granted under the trade exchanges with member countries of the initiative, with a view to boosting non-hydrocarbon exports and achieving the objectives of the AfCFTA agreement.
The latter aims to significantly increase the trade flow between African countries.
The Guided Trade Initiative was launched during the 10th meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers held on 7 October 2022 in Accra (Ghana).
This initiative aims to test the operational, institutional and legal environment for implementing the AfCFTA agreement, through the effective launch of the trade in accordance with the preferential benefits provided for in the agreement establishing the area, sealed between the State Parties having met the minimum conditions to initiate such trade.
The countries that have joined this initiative so far are Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, Rwanda, Mauritius and Tanzania.