AU's Priority For 2019 To Step Up Free Trade Deal Implementation - Egyptian President

The African Union (AU) will focus on boosting integration and implementation of the free trade agreement between the member states, President of Egypt and Chairperson of the African Union Abdel Fattah Sisi said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference

MUNICH (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2019) The African Union (AU) will focus on boosting integration and implementation of the free trade agreement between the member states, President of Egypt and Chairperson of the African Union Abdel Fattah Sisi said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference.

"The priorities of the AU 2019 focus on co-fostering regional integration across the continent, increasing investments in infrastructure, facilitating international trade and stepping up the implementation of Continental Free Trade Area," Sisi said.

The Egyptian president also pointed out that the African Union would develop sustainable development programs under the African Agenda 2063.

"We will gradually and efficiently execute the design plans and we will work on the national and regional capacity building," Sisi added.

The Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) was signed in late March 2018 at a summit in the Rwandan city of Kigali. The accord seeks to progressively eliminate tariffs on intra-African trade and to remove other trade barriers. The free trade area will be formally established once all documents are concluded and ratified by member states.