Economics
Africa to Push Ahead With Trade Deal Even If Virus Rebounds
- World’s biggest free-trade zone set back by Covid-19 pandemic
- Increased trade can help continent rebuild, top official says
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An Africa-wide free-trade agreement is unlikely to face any further delays even if a second wave of coronavirus infections hits the region, according to its top official.
“If the pandemic continues into 2021, we will develop the necessary public-health protocols to continue and to push on with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” Wamkele Mene said in an interview at the Bloomberg Invest Global virtual conference on Tuesday. The secretariat will take advice from health officials as it works to implement the deal and revive economic growth on the continent.