African free-trade deal on track despite coronavirus
JOHANNESBURG – The coronavirus pandemic is unlikely to scupper a July 1 target for the first commerce under an African-wide free-trade deal, even if meetings to iron out details are being canceled, according to the zone’s most senior official.
Cross-border travel bans by some governments, as well as restrictions imposed by companies on their employees, have led to conferences being canceled. The Africa CEO Forum, which was scheduled for this week in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, was postponed at short notice due to the virus outbreak.
“I don’t think anybody would have anticipated that the virus would be so disruptive to the entire global economy,” Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area, said by phone. He was due to attend the forum in Abidjan.
Source: iol.co.za