Tripartite, a new free trade agreement between 26 African countries

Twenty-six East African countries signed a free trade agreement on Wednesday (June 10th) in Sharm el-Sheikh, which includes the eastern half of the continent.

The Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA), a free-trade area extending from Cape Town, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt, is the result of a grouping of three economic regions: Comesa, Common Market of Eastern and Southern African States, EAC (East African Community) and SADC (Southern African Development Community).

The 26 countries of "Tripartite" constitute a group of 625 million inhabitants and have an overall GDP of 900 billion euros. The free trade treaty provides for the creation of preferential tariffs and the elimination of non-tariff barriers. This will contribute to a 20 to 30% increase in trade between member countries of this space.