AU banks on Tanger Med Port to achieve CFTA objectives
The African Union, AU, is counting on the Moroccan Tanger Med Port to achieve the logistics integration of the continent, a key objective of African Continental Free Trade Area agreement CFTA.
Tanger Med Port is awash with opportunities for the continent, said Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the CFTA Secretariat.
Speaking during a recent online conference organized by Tanger Med Special Agency (TMSA) and the Moroccan Exporters’ Association (ASMEX) under the topic “New logistics ambitions for Moroccan exports”, Wamkele Mene said the Moroccan global logistics hub will contribute to the improvement of Moroccan competitiveness and African logistics integration.
“Logistics and distribution services are really the key to boosting intra-African trade,” Mene insisted.
“Goods could be transported by sea, reducing the cost of trade on the continent,” he added.
In 2020, the port handled 5.8 millions of EVP containers despite the global pandemic, scoring a 20 per cent increase compared to 2019.
Created in 2018, the CFTA forms a market of 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of $3,400 billion that is expected to reach $8,000 billion by 2035.
The CFTA targets four main objectives, namely create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments, and thus pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Continental Customs Union and the African customs union; expand intra African trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade liberalization and facilitation of regimes and instruments across RECs and across Africa in general; resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships and expedite the regional and continental integration processes; and enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploiting opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources.
A dozen of countries, including Morocco, are yet to ratify the agreement for the creation of the trade area which came into effect in January this year.
