African Connectivity Moves Forward

Eddie beat me to this, but he doesn’t have a cool map =)

The BBC reports that 26 African countries, which were previously split into three trading blocs, The Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the East African Community (EAC), have signed a free trade agreement covering a vast part of the African continent.

While Africa is mostly a Gap continent, this is an important move towards the Core in the long term. The agreement also detailed further goals of the block, namely: a single customs union and harmonizing their transport, technology and energy infrastructure. A Free Trade Zone will begin to better integrate the continent, giving it more weight internationally and allowing it to deal as a bloc in negotiating agreements with the rest of the world. The free trade zone will not just integrate Africa economically, but slowly lead towards more political and popular integration as both governments and peoples better see their shared fates and interdependence. A South African government official hit the nail on the head:

“We don’t think its going to be an easy process… (but it’s) the only viable path the continent can take if it wants to play in this global environment,” Ntsaluba said.

African leaders have understood the Core/Gap divide and may be a long way from entering, but seem to have decided their path. It will be important to see how well the new group can effectively open and police their borders, coordinate and improve transportation infrastructure and fight corruption. Although the agreement is grounds for optimism, transportation and corruption will now be the two biggest factors in determining how well this agreement functions.