VICE PRESIDENT SHETTIMA JOINS WORLD LEADERS TO PUSH FOR FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF AFRICAN CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA 22-01-25
By Sadiq Aminu Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima has joined other world leaders to push for the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, with a target to boost Africa’s economy to $29 trillion by 2050.
He restated Nigeria’s readiness to spearhead the AfCFTA and take advantage of the market potential of the sector for digital transformation and economic integration of the African continent.
This is just as the President of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Børge Brende, pointed out the transformative potential of the AfCFTA, projecting that its full implementation could boost Africa’s economy to $29 trillion by 2050.
The Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications, Office of The Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha in a statement said Senator Shettima and the global leaders declared their nations’ positions during a forum of Friends of AfCFTA on the sidelines of the ongoing 2025 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
According to VP Shettima, Africa stands in a unique position to take advantage of global talent deficits, citing a Korn Ferry study that projects a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people by 2030.
“Today, we have 220 million telecom subscribers and 163 million internet users in Nigeria alone. This provides us with immense opportunities to empower our people. While our highest oil export earnings were $35 billion in 2011, India last year earned about $120 billion from outsourcing alone”, Senator Shettima said.
On his part, the WEF President, Brende, if the Secretary General of the AfCFTA is given all the support he deserves, intra-African trade could be boosted by 50%.
“As of today, $29 trillion represents one-third of the global GDP. Africa is such a growing continent, and one of its key promises is demography. The challenge now is creating new jobs for the youth population,” he stated.
Others who spoke at the event included the Presidents of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa; Botswana, Duma Boko; DR Congo, Felix Tshisekedi; Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud; Prime Minister of Egypt, Mostafa Madbouly; Confederation of African Football President, Patrice Motsepe; Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair; amongst numerous global CEOs.