Rwanda yesterday became the third nation on the continent to deposit the instruments of ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

 

The development was confirmed by Olivier Nduhungirehe, the Foreign Affairs State Minister via twitter.

 

Rwanda also became the first to deposit the Protocol to the Abuja Treaty on the Free Movement of People and Right of Establishment and Right of Residence.

 

Depositing the instruments of ratification means that the country has undertaken all required internal legislative and legal measures in readiness to implement the transformational agreement.

 

Rwanda follows Kenya and Ghana both who deposited the instruments early this month.

 

This follows the passing of the agreements by parliament and signing by the Head of State to complete the process.

 

For the agreement to take effect, a minimum of 22 ratifications are required to commence implementation of the agreement.

 

During the signing of the agreement in March this year, African Union Member countries set a deadline of 180 days to ratify the agreement through their respective legislative bodies.

 

The UN Economic Commission for Africa's (ECA) Conference last week called for African nations to speed up the ratification and adoption process of the agreement saying it is a powerful tool for driving industrialisation, economic diversification and development.

 

ECA estimates indicate that the agreement’s implementation could boost intra-African trade from its current level of 16 per cent to 52 per cent by 2022