Luanda - Angola considers it important to move forward with the process of economic integration on the African continent, the President of the Republic, Joao Lourenço said Saturday.
President João Lourenço said that, if it is achieved, the process would offer opportunities for the integration of Angola's business class into the continent's various productive sectors and, in this way, use this platform as a hub for attracting investment, both direct and on the stock exchange.
Speaking at the 13th Special Session of the General Assembly of the African Union (AU), which took place from Johannesburg, South Africa, via videoconference, the Angolan head of state said that the country was developing the internal process of drawing up a proposal to dismantle national tariffs.
The proposal, he explained, was based on the negotiating modalities adopted for trade in goods and would then establish a roadmap for trade in services.
He said that Angola planned to conclude its offer for trade in goods, for the review of the African Union Commission and partners on the continent, within the agreed deadlines, without undermining its SADC commitments.
"Our tariff offer is based on the position taken within the SADC framework, in line with what was set out in the negotiating modalities which provide for the submission of offers based on the progress made in the regional economic communities," he emphasised.
He recognised the urgency of presenting a list of specific commitments for trade in services in the five priority sectors, namely financial services and professionals, transport, telecommunications and tourism, essential for efforts to create economies of scale and cross-border trade in both goods and services.
In the Angolan president's view, trade facilitation, based on the establishment of rapid and efficient customs procedures and the adoption of an efficient system of certification of goods, is of paramount importance to support the connection of the business sector to regional value chains.
