LISBON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Roberto Azevedo, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), pledged to support African plans to create a continental free-trade zone during a visit to Lisbon on Tuesday.
When asked by the Lusa Portuguese News Agency whether the African initiative clashed with the interests of the WTO, Azevedo, who was in Lisbon for the VI Luso-Brazilian Legal Forum conference, said "Not in the least."
"The WTO must support the process of African integration," said Azevedo. "WTO rules must favor African integration and development, which is very important for African countries. We'll do whatever we can to help this integration."
African heads of state met in Rwanda last month to discuss the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a free-trade zone that would include all 55 countries in the African Union.
Of those 55, 44 signed up to the initiative on March 21. Others, most notably Nigeria, the continent's largest country by population, asked for more time to study the proposal.
If ratified, AfCFTA would be the largest free-trade area in terms of country numbers aside from the WTO.
The WTO has 164 member countries, including the vast majority of African nations.
