There are a lot of opportunities for India under AfCFTA - Deputy Trade Minister

There are a lot of opportunities for India in the area of pharmaceuticals, automotive; vehicle component manufacturing, garment and textiles, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi has said.

He noted that Africa has a market size of 1.2 billion with an estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$3.4trillion.

With the aforementioned figure, Okyere Baafi said India must partake in the investment opportunities on the continent under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Speaking at the 4th Session of the India-Ghana Joint Trade Committee held in Accra on Thursday, May 2, 2024, the Deputy Trade Minister of Trade and Industry stated that, "With the coming into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), we believe that there are a lot of opportunities for India in the area of pharmaceuticals, automotive; vehicle component manufacturing for example, garment and textiles."

"These are areas that we want to have a very deep corporation and with the coming into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area I know you know, that for the first time, Africans have decided to do business among ourselves, this customs union have become the biggest in the whole world. Even bigger than the ACP now," he stated.

Okyere Baafi further said, "The African market is becoming a market that nobody in the world can underestimate. Now, the African market has become like a virgin lady that everybody is running after so we want India, our best friend to be a beneficiary of this good news that is happening to Africa."

Speaking in the same vein, the Co-Chair of the Joint Trade Committee, Amardeep Singh Bhatia, said partnerships are key to facilitating investments.

"Some areas we are looking at is greater partnership in the pharmaceutical industry, ICT, digital public infrastructure...We are also looking at more cooperation in agriculture..." he said.

Touching on the African Continental Free Trade Area, Amardeep Singh Bhatia said, India was positive about it and was looking forward to engaging authorities on the trade relations.

"We would like to understand more about what AfCFTA is looking forward to in terms of cooperation and trade ties with India. We are very positive about it. India is the 5th largest country in the world and AfCFTA is the largest economic giant in the world with great future potential," he added.

AfCFTA, one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063 is a high ambition trade agreement with a comprehensive scope that includes critical areas of Africa’s economy such as digital trade and investment protection, amongst other areas.

By eliminating barriers to trade in Africa, the objective of the free trade pact is to significantly boost intra-Africa trade, particularly trade in value-added production and trade across all sectors of Africa’s economy.

AfCFTA, which came into effect in January 2021, is the largest free trade area globally, covering 55 African countries with a combined population of 1.3 billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeding $3.4 trillion.

The pact also seeks to help African economies build robust and more resilient economies to absorb any shock – internally or externally.

SA/NOQ

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