The National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will identify all aspects of the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECAF), in order to consider its smooth implementation for the economy of the country, announced its president, Christophe Mboso N’kodia, Monday March 15 in Kinshasa.
“As part of our representation mission, we plan to organize two major activities in the next few days. The first will be devoted to the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, ZLECAF. In the light of the views of experts from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the DGDA, the FEC and some university professors, we want to identify all aspects of this agreement, in order to consider its implementation without shock for our economy, ”he said in his opening speech to the parliamentary session in March.
Launched in January 2012, during the 18th ordinary session of the African Union (AU) conference, the ZLECAF is an African market that is home to 1.3 billion potential consumers for a GDP estimated at 3,400 billion USD. Its objective is to eventually integrate all 55 states of the African Union into the Free Trade Area. The agreement provides for the elimination of tariffs on 90% of tariff lines over 5 years for the most developed countries and over 10 years for the least developed countries.
Congolese Head of State Félix Tshisekedi, upon assuming office as President of the African Union, invited the regional economic communities to pursue the realization of the ZLECAF and welcomed the progress made in the process of its ratification. For him, its implementation represented an act of economic independence.
