FG launches the first AfCFTA cargo to five African countries
FIVE years after establishing Nigeria’s African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA Coordination Office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu launched the first shipment of Nigerian exports to five African countries under the Guided Trade Initiative, GTI. Speaking at the ceremony, President Tinubu stated that the agreement will spark the flame of opportunity, strengthen economic links, and pave the road for growth and shared prosperity for our great nation and the entire African continent.
According to the President, the AfCFTA is more than just an agreement; it is a trade pact that would help Africans industrialise and develop. The President, who was represented by Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Federal Government, stated: “Today, we embark on a journey that will ignite the flame of opportunity, foster economic ties, and pave the way for progress and shared prosperity for our great nation and the entire African continent.” We convene in Lagos, hoping that being at the vanguard of Africa’s economic and commercial acceleration will demonstrate Nigeria’s long-standing leadership in regional and continental integration.
Similarly, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, National Coordinator for Nigeria’s AfCFTA Office, stated that trade was the only and most sustainable way to success. Awolowo also stated that Nigeria has fully met all of the requirements for accession to the Guided Trade Initiative, GTI, and that the stakeholders are witnesses to the official start of trade under the preferential trading arrangement with the symbolic shipment of some containers from Apapa ports. According to Awolowo, Nigeria’s first exports were sent to Cameroon, Kenya, Algeria, Uganda, and Egypt, and included bags, pottery, textiles, cables, smart cards, Clinkers Black soap, native starch, and shea butter.
