Since its ratification of the Zlecaf agreement in 2021, Algeria plans to take advantage of the commercial prospects offered by this immense continental market. Integrating the first phase of implementation of the initiative will allow the North African country to achieve its objectives.
Algeria wants to integrate the first phase of implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (Zlecaf) in order to boost its intra-African exports, we learned from Algérie Presse Service (APS ), citing the Ministry of Commerce, Monday, July 10.
“Algeria is not yet a member of the initiative, but discussions with the Zlecaf secretariat are underway. Soon, there will be a delegation from the Zone secretariat in Algeria to explain this initiative to economic operators and institutions,” said Leila Mokhtari, representative of the Ministry of Commerce.
This first phase of implementation was initiated by the Zlecaf Secretariat in 2022, allowing eight countries to freely trade at least 96 local products that will benefit from duty-free and quota-free trade between partner countries.
The countries concerned by this pilot phase are Tanzania, Mauritania, Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, Rwanda, and Ghana and recently Tunisia.
As a reminder, in 2021, Algeria ratified the Zlecaf agreement, a single continental market with a population of around 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of around $3.4 trillion. For Algiers, this membership aims to open up new prospects for its national economy and strengthen trade with African countries, in addition to promoting national exports.
Trade between Algeria and Africa is estimated at around 4% of the overall volume of the country’s trade with the rest of the world. Exports to countries on the continent represent nearly $600 million in 2022, or some 9% of the country’s total non-hydrocarbon exports, APS reported.
