ECA to launch the Amharic translation of the AfCFTA Agreement

Addis Ababa, December 12, 2022 (FBC) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), with the leadership of the FDRE Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration (MoTRI) is set to launch the Amharic translation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.

It is known that Ethiopia signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement in Kigali on the historic day of 21 March 2018, the Commission recalled.

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, ECA further recalled.

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).

ECA stated that in appreciation of this fact, it 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, the Commission said.

In this context, ECA, with the leadership of the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration of Ethiopia and financial support from the European Union (EU), will launch the Amharic translation of the Agreement, the Commission further confirmed.