FILE- African Union Commission set a theme for Africa Day 2019 to be Year of Refugees, returnees and IDPs: Towards Durable solutions to forced displacement in African - African UnionASWAN - 29 November 2019: Although the North Africa region is endowed with most of the structural components of a dynamic, integrated market (e.g. proximity, infrastructures, linguistic and cultural affinity, etc.) its insufficient integration is depriving its economies from opportunities to grow and widen the scope for job creation. When 64% of imports come from the European Union, North African countries are essentially exporting their labour, said ECA Executive Secretary Vera Songwe in a video message to participants, adding that, the more African countries trade with each other, the more North African youths should be able to work.“Africa is gifted with an abundance of natural and energy resources, outstanding geographical locations, as well as many ports that facilitate access to and within our African countries. To this end, there is a need for higher investment in infrastructure projects that can support intra African trade and investment so as to create decent and productive jobs for our nations, and to achieve inclusive and sustainable development”, he added.“This session and the Expert Group Meeting are indeed an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a successful start of the AfCFTA [in North Africa].

Source: The North Africa Journal November 29, 2019 12:45 UTC