ADDIS ABABA, June 13 (Xinhua) -- A new report jointly published by the United Nations and the African Union (AU) emphasized that there is much work to be done to spur Africa's integration, so as to enable the continent withstand socioeconomic shocks, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The second Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII 2019) was recently launched by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union Commission, and the African Development Bank (AfDB) with a call to act to to deepen African integration.
The report, among other things, found that "much more needs to be done to integrate regional economies to make them more resilient to shocks such as the current COVID-19 pandemic."
The 2019 index, which builds on the first edition published in 2016, provided up-to-date data on the status and progress of regional integration in Africa. It also helps to assess the level of integration for every regional economic community and their member countries.
The continental integration index showed that the level of integration on the continent is relatively low with an average score of 0.327 out of 1.
The ARII report complements the African Multidimensional Regional Integration Index, which was developed over the last two years by the AU Commission, regional economic communities, national statistics offices and African Central Banks.
With the establishment of regional economic communities and the creation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), Africa has reinforced regional integration as a major development priority for the continent under the 2012 Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) Action Plan.
The Index also ranked African countries' integration within their respective regional economic communities and also with the rest of the continent. It also scores across five key dimensions that are trade, productive capacity, macroeconomic policy, infrastructure, and free movement of people.
The ARII-2019 ranked South Africa, Kenya and Rwanda as the top three most integrated countries on the continent, while South Sudan, Eritrea and Burundi were ranked as the least integrated African countries.
"Whereas the latest edition has data cut off points in 2019, the present COVID-19 pandemic has reopened the question of whether enough is being done in advancing regional integration as a means to help Africa withstand systematic shocks such as the one being experienced today," said Stephen Karingi, Regional Integration Division Director at the ECA.
"This index is both a measurement exercise and a call to action," Karingi said, adding that "it will identify the solutions needed to truly build an integrated Africa."
Jean-Denis Gabikini, Director of Economic Affairs Department at the AU, on his part welcomed the collaboration in producing the Index which examines furthering regional integration through the implementation of AfCFTA.
Gabikini noted that African leaders "must use the urgency created by the COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate regional integration, deepen local financial markets and strengthen private sector to withstand future shocks as envisaged under the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement."
The African Development Bank's Director for Regional Development and Regional Integration, Moono Mupotola, on his part stressed that the Index "is a useful tool for tracking progress on the regional integration front and would help countries identify priorities to improve integration."
"The crippling effects of COVID-19 illustrate the need for enhanced production of African finished goods and services that can readily be traded across the continent," Mupotola said.
David Luke, coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) at the ECA, also pointed out that the productive and infrastructure dimensions of regional integration are intricately linked, in which tackling these two dimensions along with implementing the AfCFTA would be a massive boost for trade.
For Africa to succeed in its long-standing efforts towards closer economic integration, ARII-2019 also made six major recommendations, which include improving regional networks of production and trade by enhancing countries' productive, distributive, and marketing capacities.
It also recommended building innovative, regional value-chain frameworks in different sectors using improved technology, higher-quality inputs, and updated marketing techniques; fully implementing the AfCFTA to remove non-tariff barriers, which remain a major challenge for regional integration; as well as enhancing African workers' competencies to match the technology and production capacities of today and tomorrow to succeed in the global economy.
Improving infrastructure through increased public-private partnerships, tapping into national resources and using regional and global infrastructure development funds and other innovative financing tools, accompanied by rigorous competition and transparency in procurement and construction processes was also another major recommendation of the ARII 2019.
It also suggested implementing the Protocol on the Free Movement of People, which will enhance economic growth through increased opportunities for tourism, trade and investment, human capital mobility, and allow firms to find skills more easily, in turn driving productivity. Enditem
