Burundi has reaffirmed its support for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as African leaders seek to turn the agreement into greater trade and investment across the continent.
President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who also chairs the African Union, met a high-level AfCFTA delegation in Bujumbura on August 4. The delegation was led by former Niger President and AfCFTA Champion Mahamadou Issoufou, and included AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene.
The discussions focused on speeding up the implementation of the trade agreement, including the signing, ratification and use of its protocols.
President Ndayishimiye said Burundi remained committed to removing barriers to African trade and wanted AfCFTA to support sustainable development and shared prosperity.
Wamkele Mene said the AfCFTA Secretariat would continue supporting Burundi as it works toward its goal of becoming an emerging economy by 2040 and a developed country by 2060.
The AfCFTA brings together 55 African countries and a market of about 1.4 billion people, with a combined economic output of roughly $3.4 trillion.
The World Bank estimates that full implementation could increase Africa’s intra-continental exports by more than 81% and help lift millions of people out of extreme poverty.
But turning the agreement into real business remains a challenge, with poor infrastructure, border delays and other trade barriers still limiting commerce between African countries.
For Burundi, the meeting highlights the country’s effort to position its businesses to benefit from the growing continental market while Africa faces the wider challenge of turning the AfCFTA’s ambitions into more goods, services and investment moving across its borders.
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