JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- South Africa on Wednesday inaugurated the country's first trade shipment under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The goods were shipped off at the Durban Port, KwaZulu-Natal Province, which was hailed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as a historic moment in Africa's economic destiny.
"This shipment demonstrates that the AfCFTA is a reality. We are in the port city of eThekwini taking forward the dream of an ever larger and ever stronger Africa," Ramaphosa said when launching the shipment.
The AfCFTA creates the world's largest free trade area by a number of countries, and has the potential to bring transformative change and tremendous opportunities to African economies and businesses, Ramaphosa said, adding that the implementation of the AfCFTA will accelerate the development of regional and local value chains, and offer investors access to a population of 1.7 billion people with a fast-growing continental gross domestic product.
The start of preferential trade will create great opportunities for growth and development for South Africa, as with many other African countries, according to the president.
