FREE ZONES IN AFRICA

[ This file has been rearranged and issued in 26 June 2012 ]

AFRICA FREE TRADE ZONE

The African Free Trade Zone (AFTZ) is a free trade zone announced at the EAC-SADC-COMESA Summit on Wednesday October 22, 2008 by the heads of Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC). The African Free Trade Zone is also referred to as the African Free Trade Area in some official documents and press releases. AFTZ will be operational on 2018

The AFTZ membership includes the following countries:

Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In May 2012 the idea was extended to also include ECOWAS, ECCAS and AMU