Luanda - Angola remains committed to the process of accession to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), ANGOP learnt on Thursday.
The country’s engagement was announced by the director of the Legal Office for Exchange of the Ministry for Trade and Industry, Anatólio Domingos.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of AfCFTA Secretariat’s visit to the Trade and Industry Ministry, Anatólio Domingos said the country needs to reach 90 percent of liberalisation of certain products to achieve this goal.
He said that the country is working with General Tax Administration (AGT) on complying with tariff lines for the percentage items.
"After the completion of the work, he said, the proposal will be submitted to AfCFTA secretariat division for verification. After a positive response, it will be forwarded to the minister before being submitted to the Cabinet Council for approval," he explained.
In terms of products and services to be exempted from the customs tariff, Domingos said there are 5,417 tariff lines. For immediate liberalisation, the agreement requires 90 percent of the lines.
The Secretary of State for Trade, Amadeu Nunes, spoke of the importance of identifying companies, products and potential export markets in Africa, although it was also fair to include the import component.
The official said that the visit of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents a strengthening in the commitment that exists in relation to the implementation of the Agreement signed in Kigali, in March 2018.
Meanwhile, the president of the Angolan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Vicente Soares, called for the need to improve trade between African countries due to the low percentage, around 16 to 17 percent.
In order to improve the trade scenario, he said it was necessary to map out the African market to allow traders across Africa to get to know each other.
AfCFTA is a flagship project of Agenda 2063, which aims to create a single African market for goods and services, facilitated by the free movement of people and capital.
Its objective is to deepen economic integration, promote and achieve sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality, industrialisation, agricultural development, food security, structural transformation and inclusive human development.
Angola became a formal State Party to the AfCFTA in 2020, after the country deposited the letter of ratification of the Agreement. EH/AC/DAN/NIC
