Mrs. Nevine Gamea, Minister of Trade and Industry, praised the great efforts of the members of the working group on rules of origin for what has been accomplished so far during the activities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA ) ‘s Seventh Meeting of Trade Ministers , despite the difficulties encountered by her negotiations as a normal result of the large number of Member states, different interests, different manufacturing capacities.
She expressed gratitude to the Secretary-General for his consensus recommendations, which were given in those conversations in order to move positions and establish satisfactory settlements, and which have already made progress in some sectors.
The Minister emphasized the African Continental Free Commerce Area's targeted outcomes, which include increased intra-African trade and member-state integration, noting the need of prioritizing these objectives as one of the highest priorities in order to close the remaining gaps in the origin negotiations.
Gamea emphasized the importance of establishing rules of origin that are less stringent and easier to comply with in order to give products manufactured on the continent a competitive advantage. He also stressed the importance of considering the availability of all industrial process inputs within the continent before establishing any base for each product from the remaining sectors, in order to avoid cutting the production and supply chains for these industries. As well as considering the social elements of some industrial sectors, such as clothes and textiles, and how this industry serves as a source of income for millions of African families through small and medium businesses.
Gamea stated that the establishment of an African Continental Free Trade Area that takes into account the Africa continent's balances and differences, as well as all member states' interests and needs, represents a realization of the principle of justice without excluding any region or country, as the agreement's ultimate goal is to achieve gains for all and sustainable development for all countries through upgrading the industrial and commercial infrastructure.
