Heads of State and Government in Kigali for the signing of the Continental Free Trade Area agreement
In a few hours from now AU Heads of State and Government will be signing the historic Continental Free Trade Area.
Early this morning, heads of state and officials from each regional block held closed-door consultations in their respective Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on whether it is legitimate to put pen to paper on the deal.
The main African blocks include The East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Later on, all heads of State met in a brief session before going for the final closed-session that will make final deliberations on the signing of the document.
At the moment, Heads of State present are from; South Africa, Kenya, Chad, Angola, Djibouti, Sudan, Mauritania, Comoros, Mozambique, Senegal, Niger, Gambia, Zimbabwe, Congo Republic, Ghana, Gabon and Prime Ministers of Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Ivory Coast and Algeria.
It is expected that the final signing session will take place at 1pm Kigali time.
