Latest news with #AfCFTA
Libya Review
a day ago
- Politics
- Libya Review
Libya Joins African Parliament Talks on Trade & Climate
Members of Libya's House of Representatives participated in a high-level joint seminar held on the sidelines of the African Parliament sessions in Midrand, South Africa. The event brought together delegates from Libya, South Africa's National Assembly, and the Pan-African Parliament. Libyan representatives Yusuf Al-Fakhri, Salem Gnan, Abdelqader Yahya, Saleh Qelma, and Asmaa Al-Khuja took part in the seminar, which addressed key regional issues and inter-African cooperation strategies. Focus on Trade, Migration, and Climate Legislation Participants discussed a joint working paper on enhancing trade across African countries and activating the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which aims to create a single market for goods and services on the continent. The seminar also addressed migration policies, focusing on ways to protect the rights of African citizens across borders. A third working paper highlighted the urgent need for legislative responses to climate change, including the development of unified environmental policies. Final Statement and Continental Implementation At the conclusion of the seminar, attendees agreed on a set of recommendations to be compiled into a formal statement. This document is expected to be officially adopted at the end of the current session of the Pan-African Parliament, with the aim of ensuring continent-wide implementation. Libya's participation underscores its commitment to playing a constructive role in African legislative cooperation and in addressing shared challenges through collective policymaking. Tags: AfCFTAAfricaClimate ChangelibyaLibyan parliament
Mail & Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Mergers without borders are emerging, led by changes to African nations' laws and regional bodies
Africa's evolving merger-control ecosystem can serve as a driver for intra-African trade Africa's merger-control regimes are experiencing a healthy transformation, driven by proactive national and regional regulators and underpinned by the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area's (AfCFTA) Competition Protocol. Together, these developments reflect an emerging commitment to balancing national priorities with the benefits of a harmonised, cross-border competition architecture. Across the continent, competition authorities are refining their own competition frameworks and laying foundations for deeper integration. The Economic Community of West African States's (Ecowas) Competition Regulatory Authority (ERCA), although still embedding itself, has similar ambitions to the more established Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Competition Commission. Both envision operating as streamlined 'one-stop shops' for merger filings within their respective blocs — although ERCA's progress to date has been somewhat uneven among its member states. Having become fully operational in October 2024, the ERCA has moved quickly. It has already processed several merger notifications and granted clearances, typically reaching a decision within two to three months. Its newly published Guidelines on Mergers and Acquisitions, 2024 provides both procedural clarity and substantive guidance for evaluating transactions under the Ecowas Community Competition Rules. This regional momentum is also prompting national legal reforms. Several Ecowas states are updating domestic laws to align more closely with the ERCA. The Gambia has tabled new competition legislation, while Sierra Leone and Liberia are pursuing revisions to their competition laws. For investors, the ERCA's oversight offers welcome certainty, particularly in jurisdictions where domestic regimes are still evolving. Meanwhile, the East African Community Competition Authority is advancing its merger framework, aiming to start accepting merger filings by October 2025. The authority is also prioritising cross-regional collaboration — in June 2025, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Competition Commission to coordinate on mergers and consumer protection matters that straddle both blocs. While this agreement sets a cooperative foundation, additional instruments will be essential to operationalise it fully. Further agreements with Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania seek to streamline procedures and minimise duplicate filings, a critical step towards making the region more attractive for cross-border transactions. In East Africa, new national regimes are poised to come fully online. Uganda's Competition Act, enacted in 2021, establishes merger control as a key function, though full implementation is pending the finalisation of supporting regulations. Similarly, in Rwanda, supporting legal instruments are needed before the merger-control regime can become mandatory. Meanwhile, Tanzania recently overhauled its Fair Competition Act, explicitly allowing mergers to proceed on public interest grounds even where they might otherwise substantially lessen competition. The Tanzanian authority has also recently bolstered its staff capacity to enable more rigorous merger scrutiny. South Africa stands apart in that it is not in a regional merger-control system. Yet its domestic regime is evolving in ways that could influence the broader continental conversation — particularly through its intensified focus on the public interest outcomes of mergers. The Competition Commission's expectation is that merger transactions should advance ownership transformation, including through employee share ownership schemes for historically disadvantaged persons. Although this approach has been met with investor concern, the commission has shown a measure of flexibility in accepting alternative public interest paradigms where ownership outcomes are impractical. Encompassing 54 of 55 African Union member states, and with 48 ratifications, actual trade under AfCFTA remains limited to a pilot group under the Guided Trade Initiative, which began with only eight members and now includes 23 (and counting). Once operational, the AfCFTA Competition Protocol will introduce a new layer of competition law scrutiny across the continent. The protocol incorporates public interest considerations into its merger-control framework. Although AfCFTA does not create a single market and sovereignty remains intact, the African Competition Authority will have jurisdiction in cases that reach the supranational level Notably, Article 11 of the Competition Protocol advocates for the identification of digital gatekeepers for core platforms. But most African jurisdictions, whether at domestic or regional level, do not yet have the laws in place to accommodate this. Kenya is a frontrunner and is currently amending its legislation to this effect. Collectively, these regional and national shifts reveal an African merger-control landscape that is both integrating and diversifying. Regional regulators are building frameworks designed to simplify cross-border compliance while national authorities continue to adapt their laws to support these ambitions. If successful, Africa's evolving merger-control ecosystem could serve not only as a safeguard against anti-competitive consolidation, but also as a driver for intra-African trade and inclusive growth, fulfilling both the letter and the spirit of the AfCFTA. Xolani Nyali is a partner, and Nazeera Mia a knowledge and learning lawyer, at Bowmans South Africa.
Daily News Egypt
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily News Egypt
Egypt, South Africa pledge to deepen development cooperation at G20 meeting
Egypt and South Africa have pledged to deepen their cooperation on development and align their perspectives on regional and global issues, Egypt's planning ministry said, following a meeting between the two countries' ministers on the sidelines of the G20 Development Ministerial Meetings. In a statement, the ministry said Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, met with Maropene Lydia Ramokgopa, South Africa's Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, during the meetings hosted and chaired by South Africa. Al-Mashat expressed Egypt's appreciation for the invitation to participate in the G20 meetings, where it has been a guest nation for the past five years. She affirmed Egypt's commitment to coordinating with South Africa during its G20 presidency to advance the restructuring of the global financial system and achieve tangible progress in development financing. The minister also commended South Africa's leadership for highlighting the development challenges facing the African continent. The two ministers emphasised the strategic importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in fostering economic growth and regional integration and called for closer cooperation to support its implementation. They also stressed the importance of expanding infrastructure projects across the continent, such as the Cairo–Cape Town Corridor, to drive development and boost competitiveness. Al-Mashat showcased Egypt's national structural reform programme and its flagship 'NWFE' programme for mobilising climate finance, noting that it was included, along with South Africa's national climate platform, in the final communiqué of the recent Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville. For her part, the South African minister praised Egypt's leadership in advancing development across Africa and amplifying the continent's voice in global forums. She commended Egypt's leadership of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), which the African Union recently extended until February 2026. Al-Mashat also welcomed the final ministerial declaration from the G20 meetings, which emphasised the need to broaden social protection systems, combat illicit financial flows, and prioritise domestic resource mobilisation to close development financing gaps.
African Manager
7 days ago
- Business
- African Manager
Tunisia: Deficit with AfCFTA down 35.2%, surplus with COMESA up 13.7%
The trade deficit with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) decreased by 35.2% during the first half of 2025, to stand at 599.1 million, compared to 925 million dinars during the same period in 2024, according to data published on Wednesday by the Ministry of Trade and Export Development. Indeed, Tunisian exports to AfCFTA countries picked up 20.5% during the first six months of 2025, while imports went down by 6.9% during the same period. By country, the trade surplus increased by 481.4% to 83.5 million dinars with Nigeria, by 148.9% to 13.2 MD with Angola, and by 86.4% to 2593 MD with Morocco. The trade deficit with Egypt and Algeria decreased by 8% and 3.5%, respectively. Regarding trade with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the surplus in the trade balance posted a rise of 16.5%, reaching 556.4 MD. Exports increased by 13.7% during the first half of 2025, reaching 1,370 million dinars. As for imports, they rose by 11.9%, reaching 813.7 million dinars at the end of June 2025.
Zawya
7 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
African Development Bank and Casablanca Finance City Host Strategic Dialogue to Accelerate African Economic Integration concluded by the Casablanca Call to Action
The African Development Bank ( and Casablanca Finance City (CFC), Africa's leading financial centre, have jointly organized a high-level strategic dialogue in Casablanca to accelerate private sector engagement in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The dialogue, under theme 'Connecting Africa – The AfCFTA Pathway,' was held on 23 July 2025. It brought together African private sector executives and representatives from major pan-African institutions, including Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Afreximbank, the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD), the West African Development Bank (BOAD), the Africa Commission of the Moroccan Employers' Confederation (CGEM), OCP Group, Attijariwafa Bank, Africa 50, Tanger Med Zone, Orange, Africa Properity Network and experts from the Boston Consulting Group. The sessions focused on evaluating the current state of AfCFTA implementation and emphasized the need to enhance private sector competitiveness, financing trade-enabling infrastructure, and operationalizing regional value chains. Participants also highlighted the need for a pragmatic approach to regional integration, anchored in the free movement of goods, people, and ideas, and unlocking new investment and trade opportunities. Unlocking a USD 3.4 Trillion Market With a population exceeding 1.5 billion and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion, Africa holds significant economic potential. Projections indicate that full implementation of the AfCFTA, through the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, could boost intra-African trade by 52% by 2035. This momentum comes as Africa positions itself within a rapidly evolving global trade landscape, with 11 of the world's 20 fastest-growing economies located on the continent, according to the IMF and World Bank. Laying the Foundation in Casablanca 'We are here today to lay the foundation for a partnership with CFC, a key player capable of bringing together major operators in Morocco and Africa to harness the full potential of the AfCFTA,' said Joy Kategekwa, Director of Regional Integration at the African Development Bank. 'It is regional actors who will build the business networks capable of catalysing investment, integrating regional value chains, and driving trade.' Lamia Merzouki, Chief Operating Officer of Casablanca Finance City Authority, stated: 'The successful implementation of the AfCFTA hinges on the effective mobilization of the private sector. That's what today's discussion with the African Development Bank is all about, looking at concrete tools to stimulate intra-African trade, identify relevant investment opportunities and facilitate the integration of African businesses into continental value chains.' Achraf Tarsim, Country Manager of the Bank for Morocco, noted: 'This regional approach is effective. We are already supporting it across the continent through strategic investments in transformative infrastructure — roads, ports, railways, logistics corridors—as well as dedicated credit lines to facilitate trade.' Participants reiterated the urgency of bridging Africa's annual infrastructure financing gap, estimated at $130 billion, to fully leverage the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA. Casablanca Call to Action At the end of the meeting, the participants called for the creation of a platform dedicated to the private sector based on four operational priorities: Accelerate market access for African businesses through structured public-private dialogue and by providing practical tools such as market data, market entry guides, policy recommendations, and a continent-wide directory of bankable projects. Bridge infrastructure gaps to support 'Made in Africa' by developing integrated and sustainable economic corridors (roads, ports, rail, and digital infrastructure) and by creating an attractive legal and regulatory environment to mobilize private capital, technical expertise, and regional operators. Enhance regional financial integration through capital markets harmonization, development of trade finance solutions, and mobilization of innovative instruments, including blended finance, pan-African funds, and tailored guarantees to scale up transformative projects. Position financial centres and business hubs as accelerators of the AfCFTA by creating an enabling business environment, attracting talent, building conducive ecosystems, and promoting Africa as an opportunity through awareness-raising, training, and advocacy initiatives. The platform would act as a strategic tool to amplify the voice of the private sector in the implementation of the AfCFTA. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Media Contacts: Casablanca Finance City Authority Communications Department Email: events@ African Development Bank Group Fahd Belbachir Principal Communications and External Relations Officer Email: media@
