President Mnangagwa, in Davos attending the World Economic Forum, is today expected to contribute to and co-chair a breakfast discussion around Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The President will co-chair the session alongside with
Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, Namibia President Hage Geingob, Rwanda
President Paul Kagame and Nigeria Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Running under the theme “Friends of the African Continental
Free Trade Area”, the breakfast meeting will explore how public-private
partnerships can support the implementation of AfCFTA.
AfCFTA is comprised of 55 countries with a population of
1,3 billion and combined GDP of about US$3,4 trillion, making it the largest
free trade area in the world, both by area and by the number of countries.
The World Bank estimates that, if implemented properly, by
2035 AfCFTA is set to lift 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty and 68
million from moderate poverty.
The same World Bank study finds that the AfCFTA has the
potential to increase intra-African trade by 81 percent by 2035. Currently, 54
of the 55 African countries have signed the agreement, and 41 countries have
ratified it.
Zimbabwe is finalising its tariff offer under AfCFTA and
hopes to reap huge trade benefits under the agreement, according to Industry
and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza, in a speech last month.
President Mnangagwa interacts with Zimbabweans living in
Switzerland on arrival in Zurich for the World Economic Forum (WEF) yesterday.
Mr Borge Brende, the President of the World Economic Forum,
will moderate the session while closing remarks will be delivered by Ms Vera
Songwe, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Later in the day, President Mnangagwa is expected to
deliver opening remarks at a workshop themed “Unlocking New Investment and
Services Markets”.
The workshop comes as vast sums of money are available for
productive investments in emerging markets, but due to regulatory bottlenecks
“this capital is not flowing to where it is most needed”.
The workshop will thus explore how public-private
collaboration can accelerate the scale and impact of investment in emerging
markets.
Another event where President Mnangagwa will participate is
a roundtable on Restoring Peace and Order amid intensifying geopolitical
fractures undoing progress on key global goals.
Mid-morning, the President will attend another informal
gathering of world economic leaders roundtable discussion on “Resilience for
Sustainable Growth”.
The discussion, to be attended by political and economic
leaders alone, without the media, will focus on the conflict in Ukraine, the
Covid-19 pandemic and the effects of climate change on the “brittle nature of
food systems, global supply chains and energy networks”.
Participants are expected to come up with steps necessary
to build greater resilience at both the global and national levels.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s packed programme, Stuart
Comberbach, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United
Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, said the
WEF is a very important forum for Zimbabwe and the fact that Zimbabwe was
invited means it is being recognised among the international community of
nations.
He said the WEF is not for speeches, “which are actually
actively discouraged”, but interactive discussions that proffer strategies and
solutions.
The whole idea is to allow participants to be very open and
honest on the challenges being faced globally and what can be done to address
them, according to Ambassador Comberbach. Herald
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