The AfCFTA was launched on January 1^st, 2021 following the signing of agreement establishing the AfCFTA in March 2018, in Kigali Rwanda. It aims to boost intra-African trade by providing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement among the member states, covering trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights and competition policy.

During the meeting, the heads of the two institutions discussed potential areas for collaboration and ways of levering the APRM’s national presence to fast-track the ratification and domestication of AfCFTA trade agreement. So far 54 Member States of the African Union have signed, and 30 countries have deposited ratification instruments.

The AfCFTA Secretary-General noted lack of collaboration among the various AU organs and institutions, hence he appreciated the visit by the APRM CEO to lay the foundation for future collaboration between the APRM and the newly established AfCFTA Secretariat. He further, seized the opportunity to request for support from the APRM Secretariat to establish Trade Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting tool that will assist in tracking the implementation of the agreement.

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