18th International Economic Forum on Africa

The International Economic Forum on Africa is the leading Europe-based event devoted to the continent. Every year, OECD officials and African policy makers, private sector, academia and civil society leaders as well as high-level representatives from international organisations gather to weigh in on the continent’s major transformations and discuss how better policies can further impact the region. The 18th Africa Forum will scrutinise the key topics of growth, employment, migration and development in the wake of Africa’s historical decision for closer integration. On 21 March 2018, forty-four (44) African countries signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement in Kigali, Rwanda. Once ratified, AfCFTA, which is part of the African Union Agenda 2063’s long-term vision, will create a single market encompassing 1.2 billion people and more than USD 2 trillion in combined GDP. Simultaneously, a protocol on the free movement of people was adopted by thirty (30) African countries. Since then, five (5) new African countries announced during the last AU Summit they have joined the AfCFTA; making it to forty-nine (49) signatories.