Lusaka is this week the centre of a critical continental trade exercise, with Zambia hosting a four-day Expert Group Meeting to assess how well the country is implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area Protocol on Trade in Goods.
The meeting, running from 26 to 29 May 2026, brings together trade experts, government officials, representatives from the AfCFTA Secretariat, the private sector and other key stakeholders to review draft assessment findings, implementation scores and recommendations aimed at strengthening Zambia’s readiness to trade under the AfCFTA framework.
The gathering falls under the AfCFTA Implementation Review Mechanism, known as AFIRM, a continental process designed to help State Parties measure their progress, identify gaps and firm up their commitments to the landmark trade agreement. Eswatini, as a State Party to the AfCFTA, stands to follow a similar review process as the mechanism rolls out across the continent. 
Beyond measuring progress, the discussions are also expected to help pinpoint legal, institutional, regulatory and operational areas that still need attention to support deeper intra-African trade and regional integration.
Zambia’s review follows the successful conclusion of similar Expert Group Meetings already held in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, signalling the growing momentum of the AFIRM process across the continent.
