PM Edouard Ngirente today participed at the opening of the Intra-African Trade Fair 2021 (IATF2021) in Durban, and he has been received by President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. Read below his remarks at this ceremony:
1. It is my great pleasure to participate in the Intra-African Trade Fair 2021, representing H.E. Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda. I would like first to thank Your Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa, for hosting this important trade fair, and for the warm hospitality extended to us in this beautiful City of Durban.
3. I also thank the Afreximbank, the African Union Commission and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat for co-organizing this second Intra-African Trade Fair.
4. We are happy that this Continental Trade Fair is one of the few physical events taking place on our continent while we are still fighting COVID-19.
5. It comes as a good opportunity to build on successes of the first Intra-Africa Trade Fair, which took place in Egypt in 2018, where African businesses registered trade and investment deals worth over USD 32 billion.
6. One of the key flagship projects of Africa’s Agenda 2063 is the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to accelerate intra-African trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market place.
7. The theme of this year’s Trade Fair is in this direction – focusing on a new African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as a key player to boosting Intra-African trade and investment.
8. Statistics show that Africa’s economy is expected to rebound from a contraction of 2.1% recorded in 2020 to 3.4% growth in 2021 and 4.6% in 2022.
9. Despite this projected positive recovery in 2021, other figures indicate that Africa still lags behind other continents. And lowering trade costs for deeper integration of markets is one of the key strategic responses to bridge this gap.
10. Therefore, there has never been a better time for supporting Intra-African trade than today.
11. Most importantly, with over 1.3 billion people, and about a GDP of 2.6 trillion USD, the implementation of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will fast-track the development of value chains on the continent and achieve the economies of scale to drive industrialization and trade.
12. Developing an innovative manufacturing ecosystem in Africa is important to increase economic competitiveness and production. However, to attain the full potential of our manufacturing sector, more efforts are required to boost private sector.
13. Besides, promoting the private sector is closely linked with improving our education systems at all levels from pre-primary, primary, secondary, Technical and Vocational Training and higher education.
14. Matching education with labor market demand will provide required skills to Africa’s young population along the key value chains of our industries and trade for global competitiveness.
15. COVID-19 pandemic has further illustrated the value of integration. It showed us the fragility of reliance on external supplies, the areas to improve in our systems, and the importance of ensuring that integration is key in our countries’ broader development agendas.
16. Improving economic resilience and growth outcomes during this period will therefore require African countries to deepen their collaboration as embedded in the intra-Africa supply chains.
17. Through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), an initiative by African Union member states to pool their purchasing power, significant doses of vaccines have so far been procured and distributed to member states.
18. Covid-19 pandemic has also emphasized the need to leverage the use of technology in facilitating the movement of goods.
19. In Rwanda, recovery efforts are in line with our medium to long-term development strategies (Vision 2050, NST1). We aim at becoming a competitive country in various sectors. This will be supported by skilled labor force, innovation, research, quality infrastructure and conducive doing business environment.
20. In this regard, Rwanda, in collaboration with other partners, is in the final stages of establishing a vaccine manufacturing facility to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 and other diseases.
21. As I conclude, I would like to reiterate Rwanda’s commitment and contribution in supporting the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
22. I wish to once again thank Your Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, your government, the Afreximbank, the African Union Commission and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat for hosting and organizing this trade fair. I thank you so much. (End)