Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
African ministers participating in the round-African trade table, organized on the occasion of the 4th edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025), were unanimous in highlighting the need to accelerate the total activation of the African continental free trade area (ZLECAF) in order to build a single continental market member countries.
At the end of this ministerial meeting organized under the theme: “Intra-African trade, from vision to reality, towards the multiplication of trade by 2030”, the Minister of Foreign Trade and the Promotion of Exports, Kamel Rezig, stressed that the multiplication of exchanges must obey many conditions. It requires the acceleration of the completion of the basic and logistical infrastructure of the continent, the facilitation of customs procedures, the encouragement of local production and the creation of regional value chains allowing to transform natural resources within the continent and to create added value, according to Rezig.
Participants insisted on the importance of associating the private sector, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups, as well as young people and women with an efforts in favor of African economic development, calling to unify efforts in terms of commercial and economic policies.
Reaffirming Algeria’s commitment to implement the recommendations of this meeting through concrete approaches, Mr. Rezig stressed that the increase in the volume of intra-African exchanges represented a strategic issue aimed at reaching economic sovereignty of the continent and to reduce its dependence on external markets, in particular with the launch of the ZLECAF, one of the major projects of the Agenda 2063 of the African Union. He considered that the rate of intra-African exchanges, which does not exceed 15%, is below the potential of the continent, hence the need to coordinate policies to remove obstacles and strengthen the exchanges of goods and services. According to him, this fair offers the opportunity to deepen consultations between decision -makers and partners, to conclude new markets and to launch new investments. He also recalled the projects concretized by Algeria in terms of infrastructure, including the Trans -Saharan road, ports and free zones with neighboring countries. In their interventions, African ministers reviewed the roads, railways and ports and customs procedures aimed at strengthening intra-African trade.
On this occasion, the secretary general of the Zlecaf, Wamkele Menne, called for optimal exploitation of available resources and the construction of a robust internal market, wishing to see the conclusions of this meeting to materialize on the ground. For its part, the executive vice-president of the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), Kanayo Awani, highlighted the support programs for SMEs and project financing in the fields of agriculture and industry, announcing the upcoming launch of new initiatives.
Participants debated two main axes, namely the facilitation of trade within the framework of the ZLECAF and the creation of channels of regional value, in order to widen the basis of African exports and to contribute to the creation of jobs and to the realization of sustainable development.