Browsing: Pakistan-Africa Summit

A graphic showing the different countries and their status in regard to the AfCFTA. Gambia has become the 22nd nation to approve the AfCFTA giving the AU the minimum threshold for the agreement to come into force. www.theexchange.africa

Pakistan-Africa Summit: Why is Continent negotiating trade with individual countries?

Countries

The low level of engagement between African leaders and Pakistan has seen trade stagnate at US$3 billion per year from 2012-13 to 2016-17.

With only a marginal increase to US$ 4.6 billion in 2018-19 and with hopes to grow trade, Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce launched the “Look Africa Initiative”, which envisaged various measures to enhance trade with Africa.

In 2019, the South Asian country’s Ministry of Commerce relocated six Commercial Sections from Europe to Africa taking the total number to ten, to cover the top ten economies of Africa.

As of 2018, trade between Pakistan and Africa stood at US$3.6 billion with Pakistan exporting a volume of US$1.4 billion while importing a volume of US$ 2.2 billion from Africa.

Pakistan imports cotton and textile products, crude oil, iron, tea, coffee, steel and inorganic chemicals from Africa. In return, Africa gets textile products, cotton, cereals, paper products and sugar.

Interestingly, as …