The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has expressed support for the Customs-Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) conference.
The Secretary-General of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, gave the endorsement when a delegation led by the NCS Comptroller-General, Bashir Adeniyi, paid a courtesy visit to the AfCFTA headquarters in Accra on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that C-PACT is an initiative of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) aimed at repositioning African trade.
The C- PACT initiative, conceived by the NCS in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), will hold its conference in Abuja from Nov. 17 to Nov
C-PACT, supported by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), aims to set new standards for cross-border cooperation and trade facilitation by establishing a transparent and agile customs framework that promotes lawful trade and sustainable economic growth.
Mene underscored the importance of collective efforts in implementing the framework of the AfCFTA Agreement, which he noted C-PACT was designed to support.
“That’s why the pact is important.
” This partnership is very important and we look forward to a substantive meaningful dialogue that will be sustainable,” he said.
The engagement, he said, would find solutions to the challenges that would be experienced during the implementation of the agreement.
He highlighted the importance of customs administrations in achieving the objectives of the AfCFTA Agreement, noting that customs authorities play a pivotal role in its success.
According to him, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union has directed them to partner with the NCS to ensure that C-PACT becomes a reality.
He said his meeting with the C-G’s delegation was productive and aimed at boosting intra-African trade alongside enabling economic growth through trade.
Earlier in his remarks, Adeniyi had said his consultation with the Secretary-General focused on exploring how customs could advance continental integration by boosting intra-African trade.
Adeniyi, who also serves as President of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), said the ultimate goal of the C-PACT initiative was to leverage trade to promote economic prosperity and drive overall development of the continent.
According to him, the AfCFTA Secretariat has been very helpful in mobilising partners such as African customs and economic operators to address challenges hindering trade on the continent.
“Most importantly, we have also heard discussion centering round the fact that customs need to take the front role in addressing the issue of deficiencies in our trade data across the continent,” he said.
He said this was a challenge he was determined to face while working with other colleagues.
Adeniyi, however, noted that the existing structure under AfCFTA needed to be strengthened to ensure that once the Customs Pact was institutionalised, it would function effectively within the secretariat’s framework.
Members of the C-G’s delegation included Ahmed Ogunsola, the General Manager of the Trade Modernisation Project Limited (TMP) and Brig.-Gen. Glover Annan, Commissioner, Customs Division, among others.
