Assessing Regional Integration in Africa: Towards an African Continental Free Trade Area (2012c)
Through the Abuja Treaty, African Union countries decided to establish the African Economic Community through a gradual process of regional integration. The creation of a continent-wide free trade area represents a key step towards implementing the Abuja Treaty. At the 19th African Union (AU) summit in July 2012, African heads of state and government reaffirmed the importance of accelerating and deepening regional trade integration at the continental level.
In order to provide interested stakeholders from government, business, civil society and academia with a better understanding of how various steps are accelerating the continental free trade agreement, and the tangential tasks of removing all obstacles to the free movement of goods, services, people, investment and capital across the continent, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN ECA) and the United Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) are offering this e-Learning course.
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Define the concept of Regional Integration , and the main theoretical perspectives on potential development with a free trade area;
- Identify the main current and emerging developments in regional integration in Africa;
- Estimate the main potential gains and losses from the planned African Continental Free Trade Area;
- Identify the key arguments for free movement of people, goods and service in Africa; and
- Discuss the major effects intra-African economic integration can have on promoting growth and unleashing the development potential of African countries.
The course consists of the following modules:
- Module 1: Overview of Regional Integration
- in Africa
- Module2: The Theory of Free Trade Areas: The Case for an African Continental Free Trade Area
- Module 3: The African Continental Free Trade Area: An Empirical Analysis
- Module 4: Perspectives for Fast-tracking an African Continental Free Trade Area
- Module 5: Movement of People and the Right of Residence and Establishment
- Module 6: Movement of Goods and Services in Africa
- Module 7: Movement of Investment and Capital in Africa
The course targets groups and individuals that are interested in obtaining a general understanding about the regional trade integration concept and latest developments. They include:
- Civil servants in national Ministries, provincial departments and local authorities
- Diplomats from Permanent Missions and Ministries of Foreign Affairs
- Officials from Regional Economic Communities (RECs)
- Professionals in private sector and civil society organizations
- Faculty, researchers and students
- Interested citizens
Acceptance to the Course
Until the registration deadline, participants are accepted to the course on a rolling basis and subject to availability of slots.
Certificate of Completion
A Certificate of Completion will be issued by UNITAR and UN ECA to all participants who complete the course-related assessments successfully.
Technical Requirements
Access to internet is an essential condition for participation. UNITAR recommends the following as a minimum in hardware and software to take our e-Learning courses. Please consult your Network Administrator or Systems person to ensure that you have the following:
- Platform: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, ME, XP or superior; MacOS 9 or MacOS X; Linux
- Hardware: 64 MB of RAM, 1 GB of free disk space
- Software:
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Adobe Flash Player
- Microsoft Office (Windows or Mac) or Open Office
- Browser: Internet Explorer 7 or higher or Firefox 3.6 or higher
- Modem: 56 K
- Note that JavaScript, Cookies and Pop-ups must be enabled