On Saturday in Cape Town, the first business forum on the free trade area and ways to revive it opened.
The aim of the forum, which runs in Cape Town until Tuesday, is to convince the private sector of the value of an African free trade area.
The representative of a major soda brand explained that importing the raw material through transit on the African continent is more expensive than importing from Asia.
Therefore, Zlecaf Secretary General, Wamkele Mene said the involvement of the private sector is necessary to achieve good results, as it is the private sector that drives trade in Africa, not governments.
For his part, former Nigerian president and FTA ambassador Mahamadou Issoufou affirmed the commitment of African heads of state to help the private sector conduct trade on the continent fluidly and easily.
He added that other obstacles must be overcome, including the reduction and elimination of non-tariff barriers.
Four priority sectors have been identified by the free trade area to improve efficiency, namely agriculture, logistics, automotive, and pharmaceuticals.