Africa Day 2023: AU promotes AfCFTA, rejects great-power competition in Africa

The African Union (AU) used the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of ‘Africa Day’ this week to warn the continent not to become a “geo-strategic battleground” for global powers and also to promote the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Africa must not become a “geo-strategic battleground” for global powers, as it grapples with several threats to its own peace and security, AU leaders have warned while celebrating Africa Day. The African continent has found itself at the center of a struggle for influence among the major powers, which has redoubled since the Russia-Ukraine war started in April 2022.

“In this international context of confrontation of divergent political interests, the will of each side threatens to transform Africa into a geo-strategic battleground, thereby creating a new Cold War,” AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat said in an address at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.

The AU also used Africa Day to promote the AfCFTA agreement and push for the acceleration of its implementation to bring greater prosperity to the continent of 1.3 billion people. Among other aims, the AfCFTA is projected to lead to job creation, poverty alleviation, improved welfare and sustainable development and overall industrialization of the continent.

The World Bank has estimated that by 2035, real income gains from full implementation of the AfCFTA could be nearly $450 billion.

The annual celebration of Africa Day serves as a significant occasion to raise awareness about Pan-African ideals and educate the population on the rich history of the continent. This year, the day was marked under the theme “The Africa We Want” which highlights continent’s journey towards achieving socio-economic and political development while shaping a positive narrative for the future.