Arusha — THE COMESA-EACSADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement, will come into force tomorrow, following the attainment of the required threshold.
The entry into force of the agreement follows the depositing of instrument of ratification by Angola on June 25th this year that made the total number of the instruments of ratification deposited to be 14, the number which enables the agreement to enter into force.
According to a press statement released by the Senior Public Relations Officer Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Mr Simon Owaka, for the agreement to take effect, at least 14 out of the 29 partner states needed to deposit their Instruments of Ratification.
It was further disclosed that the matter was announced during the 37th Tripartite Task Force meeting which took place on July 20th this year on the sidelines of the 6th African Union Mid-Year Coordination meeting in Accra, Ghana.
Owaka said that the meeting was attended by the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs), including the Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Chairperson of the Tripartite Task Force, Mr Elias Magosi, the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Ms Veronica Nduva and the Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Chileshe Kapwepwe.
The Executive Secretary of SADC and current Chairman of the Tripartite Task Force, Mr Magosi said that the member states that have already deposited their instruments of ratification include Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Egypt, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
He said those countries together accounted for 75 per cent of the Tripartite GDP in 2022. In addition, he said that Djibouti notified the COMESA Secretariat that it had ratified the agreement during the meeting of June 20 this year.
According to him, the Tripartite Summit of Heads of State and Government decided on October 22, 2008 to establish a Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) among the COMESA, EAC and SADC blocs.
"The objective of establishing the COMESA-EACSADC FTA was to enhance market access, address the issue of multiple memberships and further the objectives of cooperation, harmonisation and coordination of policies among the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs)," he said.
Mr Magosi also revealed that 29 tripartite member states represent 53 per cent of the African Union's membership with more than 60 per cent of continental GDP which is about 1.88tn dollars and a combined population of 800 million.
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"We urge the partner states to mobilise resources and support the implementation interventions, including setting up the necessary implementation structures," he said.
For her part, the EAC Secretary General, Ms Nduva stressed the need to consolidate the tripartite FTA through the agreement's implementation, to harness potential benefits, preserve gains and strengthen the participation of member states in the AfCFTA.
"The fact that we have reached the required ratification threshold of 14 ratifications, developed modalities for implementing the tripartite agreement, finalised most aspects of the Rules of Origin, continued with engagements on tariff offers and developed the Tripartite Protocol on Competition Policy demonstrates that the Member/ Partner States are committed to the process," she said.
She said that EAC was continuously engaging EAC partner states that are yet to ratify the agreement. "Tanzania reported that it was in the process of ratifying the agreement while South Sudan reported that it had begun the process of signing and ratifying the agreement," she noted.
On his side, the Secretary-General of COMESA, Chileshe Kapwepwe appreciated the efforts that have achieved the required number of ratifications for the tripartite FTA.
"To support the AfCFTA, we must ensure the tripartite works effectively. I urge the Tripartite RECs to lead the work under their respective pillars to avoid duplication of efforts," said Kapwepwe.
