ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cape Verde on Sunday submitted the instruments of ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to the African Union (AU) Commission.
The country became the 41st state party to deposit the instruments of ratification of the Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA to the 55-member pan-African bloc, the AU said in a statement.
Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat Wamkele Mene welcomed Cape Verde for becoming a state party to the historic continental free trade pact, which has been so far signed by 54 AU member countries.
Under the AfCFTA, African countries have collectively undertaken commitments to substantially liberalize all trade by eliminating tariffs on 97 percent of tariff lines over a 13-year period from the start of implementation.
Established in 2018, the AfCFTA brings together a population of 1.3 billion and a combined GDP of 3.4 trillion U.S. dollars. In terms of the number of participating countries, the AfCFTA is the largest free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization. ■