Nairobi on Sunday hosted the African Union’s fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (MYCM), bringing together various regional economic groups and mechanisms to accelerate continental integration.
The meeting themed “Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation” was attended by different African Heads of State and governments, among them Presidents Azali Assoumani (Comoros), Ali Bongo (Gabon), Abdel Fattah (Egypt), Macky Sall (Senegal), Ismail Guelleh (Djibouti) and Bola Tinubu (Nigeria) as well as the African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki among others.
We must capitalise on the institutional reform momentum at the African Union to deliver the highly sought-after Pan-African transformation. pic.twitter.com/qm9CKdRvKr
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) July 16, 2023
While addressing the delegates present at the UN Complex in Gigiri, President Ruto told the session that African integration is unstoppable and it will open doors for unprecedented transformation in the continent.
“The most compelling signal that African integration is unstoppable, and that it will open doors for unprecedented socioeconomic transformation, is the progress we have made in implementing the Africa Continental Free Trade Area. We must all be proud of this magnificent project, a historic achievement by and for ourselves, whose positive effects will reverberate throughout the world for a long time to come,” the Head of State said, pointing out that the African Continental Free Trade Area will be the world’s largest free-trade area.
“Under it, 54 countries have agreed to create a single market with a population of 4 billion and GDP of USD 3.4 trillion. The free trade area is projected to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty and boost incomes by 7%, or USD 450 billion by 2035. As I have had occasion to remark before elsewhere, this is the magnitude of what typical Pan-African collective action can achieve, and we are only getting started.”
The 5th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting is ongoing to assess the status of continental integration & coordinate efforts to accelerate the integration process through division of labour & collaboration between AU, Regional Economic Communities, Regional Mechanisms, & Member States pic.twitter.com/hJbyo9Iur6
— African Union (@_AfricanUnion) July 16, 2023
The summit also addressed crucial issues of African integration, division of labour, and the roles played by the African Union and regional economic groups on the continent.
During the opening session, Ruto urged African countries “to provide leadership towards a new industrial age for Africa.” He also called upon the IMF and World Bank to come up with a fair financial system, saying that “some of the financial debt crisis we have is because of the unfair financial system that makes Africa pay higher interest than others.”
Established in 2017, the MYCM serves as the primary platform for the African Union, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and member states to jointly assess and accelerate continental integration.
