Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia has cleared a major hurdle toward joining Africa’s single market, completing parliamentary ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Trade and Industry Minister Gamal Mohamed Hassan held talks with AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene in Mogadishu on Tuesday on how Somalia can capitalize on expanded access to the continent’s markets.
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The discussions centered on moving from ratification to implementation, including the preparations required for Somali companies to begin trading under the AfCFTA framework.
Somalia’s Federal Parliament approved the agreement before President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed the ratification bill on July 31. The government must now formally submit the country’s instrument of ratification to the African Union.
Officials examined rules of origin, certificates of origin, tariffs and non-tariff barriers, along with steps to help Somali firms compete across African markets.
The AfCFTA connects more than 1.4 billion people, while the combined economies of its participating countries are valued at more than $3.4 trillion.
With Africa’s longest coastline and a strategic position on trade routes linking the Horn of Africa, East Africa and the Gulf, Somalia views the agreement as a platform to increase exports and draw investment.
Government officials have pointed to processed meat, frozen and processed fish, hides and skins, sesame and rubber as products that could gain from improved access to African consumers.
The talks also addressed the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System PAPSS, which is intended to make cross-border payments easier across Africa, and the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, which helps countries and companies manage the economic costs of putting the agreement into effect.
Somalia is also pursuing a voice in the development of Africa’s digital trade infrastructure. The government says its experience with mobile money and digital commerce could inform negotiations over the future of digital trade within the AfCFTA.
Mene is expected to end his visit with meetings involving Somali business leaders and the Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Those engagements will consider opportunities in goods and services, private-sector participation and potential access to the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund.
