Kigali – AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene told a major continental conference in Kigali, Rwanda, this week that intra-African trade surpassed US$220 billion in 2024, pointing to growing momentum toward a more connected and opportunity-driven continental market.
Mene delivered the keynote address at the 62nd African Liberation Day International Conference, organised by the Pan African Movement in the Rwandan capital under the theme “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063: A People-Centred and Market-Driven Strategy.”
The conference was held to commemorate African Liberation Day, with Mene using his address to make the case for deeper African integration, industrialisation and inclusive economic growth through the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. 
He said expanding intra-African trade and strengthening digital economies under the AfCFTA framework would continue creating opportunities for businesses, small and medium enterprises, women, youth and smallholder farmers across the continent.
Mene also pointed to digital innovation, regional collaboration, industrialisation and the free movement of people as critical to unlocking Africa’s full economic potential and advancing the aspirations of Agenda 2063, “The Africa We Want.”
