Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo says it is critical to industrialise Eswatini to leverage on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to create more jobs, especially for women and youth.
Khumalo notes that to ensure the agreement meets Eswatini’s expectations, private sector engagement was critical for the optimal participation in the continental market.
The minister was speaking during a courtesy call by the AfCFTA Secretariat and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) delegation that is in the country.
The delegation is on a mission to kick-start the process of the development of the AfCFTA Eswatini National Strategy Development and its Implementation plan which took place at the Mountain View Hotel in Mbabane last week.
Khumalo highlighted the importance of digital trade and proper positioning of Eswatini to strategically benefit from AfCFTA.
“Our youth is more into technology and the digital space therefore, it is important to engage them by the use of the platforms they are familiar with. The innovativeness that comes with technology cannot be overemphasised hence the importance to capacitate the youth and giving them the necessary support to position themselves for the AfCFTA,” Khumalo said.
Speaking during the same meeting, AfCFTA Secretariat representative Million Habte mentioned the importance of infrastructure development and industrialisation in the implementation of the agreement.
“The agreement is important for the creation of gainful jobs, especially for the youth. Eswatini has to develop a strategy to ensure access to the African market, hence this process that started today,” he said.
He said it was important that Eswatini established a National AfCFTA Implementation Committee to oversee the smooth implementation of the agreement.
“The committee may have representatives from major stakeholders including women and the youth,” Habte advised.
The UNECA Programme Management Officer, Batanai Chikwene briefed the minister on the process of developing the National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy for Eswatini and the next steps after the initial National AfCFTA Forum.
He underscored the importance of leveraging on the AfCFTA in industrialising Eswatini as it will help in addressing the challenge of youth unemployment and in creating decent and gainful jobs.
The organisation of the process of the AfCFTA Eswatini National Strategy Development Forum kick-started today will be followed by country-wide consultations with different stakeholders including the private sector, academia, women and the youth group.
The consultation will be followed by the drafting of the strategy and the strategy review process will include Cabinet and Parliamentarians before it is validated. It is expected that the strategy will be launched by the first quarter of 2023.
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