A United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) official has said the harmonization of 215-million-people market in southern Africa through the Free Trade Area (FTA) is a panacea to galloping poverty levels in the region.
And a task force has been constituted to address the challenges posed by having two regional economic commissions in east and southern Africa, UNECA southern African regional director Jennifer Kargbo was quoted by Times of Zambia as saying in Lusaka on Sunday.
She said that economic harmonization through FTA and customs union was imperative.
Kargbo said this ahead of the high-level meeting for policy-makers and experts from southern African countries aimed at reviewing progress towards the formation of FTA and the customs union in the region which Zambia hosts on Monday.
The UN official said there was no need to be scared of the implementation of the FTA and the customs union because in the long run there would be a lot of benefits accruing as the result of the measures and that the region would not be the first one in the world to introduce the arrangement.
While admitting the many challenges in the short term, Kargbo said that the focus should be on the long-term where benefits would be abound and the countries should brace for the FTA, expected to be launched in August this year.
Among some of the benefits, she said, would be the huge and ready market of 215 million people who are residents in the region and that would lead to employment creation as the result of increased intra-regional trade.
The three-day meeting will draw participants from Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) as well as other organizations in Africa and beyond.
The participants will undertake a status review on the preparedness of southern African countries and analyze the opportunities and challenges in establishing and operating the upcoming FTA and the customs union.
Source:Xinhua
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