Vice president of R. Liberia received in Uganda
By Drone Staff
Vice president of Liberia is in Uganda. The Vice president of the Republic of Liberia Jewel H Taylor is in Uganda for state visit. She was received this Sunday morning at Entebbe International Airport by the Ndorwa West Mp and state Minister for Trade ,Industry and Cooperatives(Industry) David Bahati.
Talking to reporters in Kampala,Minister Bahati said HE. JewelHTaylor is in Uganda to visit and consult His Excellency the president of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museven especially on industrial development,trade and other continental related matters describing her as another icon of the African continent.
It should be noted that recently Liberia joined the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) recently joining over 55 countries including Uganda. She is expected to discuss with the president of Uganda partly on such important trade matters.
Uganda has been at the forefront of regional integration efforts. It is a member of the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), as well as the more recently established African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Regional trade under the EAC and Comesa has been key to the success of Uganda’s exports. Ugandan merchandise exports (excluding small-scale cross-border trade) to EAC members accounted for 46.5 per cent of officially recorded exports. However, its exports to AfCFTA countries remain the lowest in the region, underscoring the potential gains from greater intra-African trade under AfCFTA.
In this case Uganda’s exports like Milk, Iron ore among others will see the country’s economy grow.
When fully ratified, the AfCFTA will be the largest free trade area in the world, encompassing 55 countries, 1.3 billion people, and $3.4 trillion in economic output. It has several protocols that cover services, investment, and digital trade that Uganda should embrace.
Notwithstanding the potential economies of scale, new export opportunities, access to higher levels of the value chain, and forums to improve trade facilitation, non-tariff barriers may continue to limit Uganda’s trade.
These barriers include the discriminatory use of technical regulations, non-harmonized sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, and complex rules of origin. The AfCFTA stands against these barriers.
The AfCFTA seeks to enable African countries to engage more fully in regional and global value chains. Participating firms will operate in a more unified business environment across multiple countries, creating opportunities to expand their scale and increase their efficiency to levels necessary to compete with established global player.