The African Development Bank (AfDB) has urged African countries to open their borders to encourage the promotion of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Lamin Barrow, director-general of Nigeria Country Department, AfDB, said this on the sideline of the Africa Visa Openness Report release in Balaclava, Mauritius.

The report was released by the African Union (AU) and the AfDB at the 2022 African Economic Conference (AEC).

Mr Barrow said more needed to be done as it was pertinent for Africa to hasten the free trade of goods and services within the continent.

“I think we are talking about the era of the African continental free trade area. So, all the African countries really should open their borders to Africans.

“I think it is a paradox as we know that non-Africans can enter and move across Africa easier than our own fellow Africans.

“I think that the minimum we can do is to equalise that opportunity. And then, of course, we go further and make it easy for any African to wake up and move across without the need for visas.”

President of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina, said there was a need to break all barriers impeding people’s free movement across the continent.

“This is especially the workers. This is vital for promoting investment,” he said.

Also in the report, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, deputy chairperson of the AU Commission, said restricting Africans’ ability to move across borders impedes trade and stifles industrialisation.

“It discourages innovation and stymies the formation of regional value chains. It is not enough to agree on rules of origin that promote ‘Made in Africa’ products.

“For AfCFTA to succeed, non-tariff barriers to trade must be dismantled, too. Among other things, Africans must be free to move around the continent without having to apply for costly and time-consuming visas to study, trade, and develop their businesses.”

Furthermore, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, acting vice president, Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, AfDB, in the report, said the bank was supporting countries and regions as they developed policies.

(NAN)