By Godwin Oritse

FOLLOWING the inauguration of the first shipment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, AfCFTA, initiated exports to five African countries, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, has said the implementation of the agreement will industrialize the Continent.

Speaking at the launch of the shipments, Anite also said that the agreement represents a bold and visionary step towards creating a single market for goods and services, thereby facilitating the movement of capital and people across Africa.

She added that the shipment marks a significant milestone in the Continent’s journey towards realizing the full potential of the AfCFTA saying that it would boost economic integration, regional cooperation and the transform the African Continent through the power of trade.

She stated: “With the largest free trade area in the world, encompassing 54 countries and over 1.3 billion people, the AfCFTA holds immense promise for driving industrialization, economic diversification and job creation.”

The Minister explained that the agreement will spring up new business leaders, entrepreneurship and manufacturing that would herald a new era in Nigeria’s economic landscape.

She said: “The immense opportunities that AfCFTA holds for Nigeria are vast and by extension, it holds the same promise for the entire African Continent.

“By the launch of the Guided Trade Initiative, GTI, our goal is to operationalize AfCFTA by providing the practical support and guidance to businesses and entrepreneurs’’.

At the launch, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, assured stakeholders of the Customs’ preparedness to play its role in facilitating export trade.’’