Africa-Press – Lesotho. Amid global geopolitical uncertainty and disrupted trade flows, many nations are scrambling to find alternative markets and diversify their trade portfolios.
Lesotho is no exception, the country is actively exploring opportunities and positioning itself to tap into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, Africa’s development framework. Approved during the 18th ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012, the decision was later adopted for the establishment of the Action Plan for Boosting intra-African trade as a key initiative whose implementation would promote socio-economic growth development.
The AfCFTA aims at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy in global trade negotiations.
Some of its objectives are to: create a united market for goods and services, facilitated by unrestricted movement of persons in order to deepen the economic integration of the African continent and in accordance with the Pan African Vision of “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa” enshrined in Agenda 2063.
AfCFTA also aims to create a liberalised market for goods and services through successive rounds of negotiations and to contribute to the movement of capital and natural resources by facilitating investments building on the initiatives and developments of the State Parties and regional economic communities (RECs).
Lesotho’s Ministry of Trade and Business Development, Senior Public Relations Officer, Lihaelo Nkaota, said the ministry recently held a meeting to refine the national development goals so that they align with and ensure effective implementation of the AfCFTA.
Speaking on Lesotho’s slow uptake of AfCFTA, she noted that Lesotho is currently waiting for all other member states to ratify the agreement before fully reaping its benefits.
Taking stock of the challenges facing AfCFTA, African Trade Report 2024 states: “According to the AfCFTA Secretariat, trade under the rules established by the agreement started in January 2021. However, commercially reflective trade began in October 2022 with the introduction of the Guided Trade Initiative.
Under this initiative, seven pilot countries – Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Tunisia – started trading a set of goods on a duty-free basis to boost the implementation of the trade agreement and test the operational, institutional, legal, and trade policy environment under the agreement.”
Beyond Africa, Lesotho also enjoys favourable access to the European Union (EU) market under the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative, which allows duty-free, quota-free exports of all products except arms and ammunition.
Nkaota also noted that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and SADC offers further preferential trade access, opening up avenues for Lesotho’s goods to reach European consumers. Among the products being considered for export to the EU are goose feathers to make garments such as jackets and duvets and certain medicinal products
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