By Sophia Denekew and Senait Afework
Ethiopia signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Agreement in Kigali on the historic day of 21 March 2018. Exactly a year to the day, on 21 March 2019, the Ethiopian Parliament – the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) – ratified the AfCFTA Agreement, a significant landmark in the long history of Ethiopia. Unlike a vast majority of African countries, Ethiopia is neither a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) nor a full participant in the trade liberalization initiatives within the Continent through regional economic communities (RECs). In appreciation of this fact, ECA has been committed to ensuring Ethiopia gets all the technical support it needs to succeed in this area.
Harnessing the full benefits of the AfCFTA starts with its domestication. Making the Agreement accessible in the local language facilitates domestic policy processes and brings the AfCFTA closer to the people. In this context, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), with the leadership of the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration of Ethiopia and financial support from the European Union, launched the Amharic translation of the Agreement on 13 December 2022 at the United Nations Conference Centre.
Find the Amharic transation of the Agreement here:
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For more information, please contact:
Ms. Sophia Denekew
Media Relations, ECA Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
and
Ms. Senait Afework
ATPC/Regional Integration and Trade Division, ECA
Email: afeworks@un.org
Tel: +251 900 81 80 81
Twitter: @atpc2