Regional Economic Communities
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Regional Economic Communities
The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa group together individual countries in subregions for the purposes of achieving greater economic integration. They are described as the "building blocks" of the African UnionAU and are also central to the strategy for implementing the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). List of Regional Economic Communities recognized by the African Union Currently, there are eight RECs recognised by the AU, each established under a separate regional treaty. They are: * Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) * Common Market for Eastern and Southern AfricaCOMESA * Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) * East African CommunityEAC * Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) * Economic Community of West African StatesECOWAS * Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) * Southern African Development CommunitySADC Background From its establishment in 1963, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) identified the need for the econom ...
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African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The intention of the AU was to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa. The largest city in the AU is Lagos, Nigeria, while the largest urban agglomeration is Cairo, Egypt. The African Union has more than 1.3 billion people and an area of around and includes ...
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African Economic Community
The African Economic Community (AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. The stated goals of the organization include the creation of free trade areas, customs unions, a single market, a central bank, and a common currency (see African Monetary Union) thus establishing an economic and monetary union. Pillars Currently there are multiple regional blocs in Africa, also known as Regional Economic Communities (RECs), many of which have overlapping memberships. The RECs consist primarily of trade blocs and, in some cases, some political and military cooperation. Most of these RECs form the "pillars" of AEC, many of which also have an overlap in some of their member states. Due to this high proportion of overlap it is likely that some states with several memberships will eventually drop out of one or more RECs. Several of these pillars also contain subgroups with tighter customs and ...
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Economic Integration
Economic integration is the unification of economic policies between different states, through the partial or full abolition of tariff and Non-tariff barriers to trade, non-tariff restrictions on trade. The trade-stimulation effects intended by means of economic integration are part of the contemporary economic Theory of the Second Best: where, in theory, the best option is free trade, with free competition and no trade barriers whatsoever. Free trade is treated as an idealistic option, and although realized within certain developed states, economic integration has been thought of as the "second best" option for global trade where barriers to full free trade exist. Economic integration is meant in turn to lead to lower prices for distributors and consumers with the goal of increasing the level of welfare, while leading to an increase of economic productivity of the states. Objective There are economic as well as political reasons why nations pursue economic integration. The ...
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Organisation Pour La Mise En Valeur Du Fleuve Sénégal
The ''Organisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve Sénégal'' (OMVS; in English Senegal River Basin Development Authority) is an organisation grouping Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal for the purpose of jointly managing the Senegal River and its drainage basin. In 1963 a predecessor organization was established, the ''Organisation des Etats Riverians du Fleuve Sénégal'' (or the Senegal River Riparian States Organization), with the four border countries—Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal—to manage the Sénégal River drainage basin and the river itself. This organization dissolved when Guinea withdrew due to political tensions and the three remaining countries subsequently created the OMVS. Guinea returned to the organisation in 2006. The OMVS aims to promote ''self-sufficiency in'' food security, to improve the income of the local populations, and to preserve the natural ecosystems. The area has a total population of 35 million inhabitants, of whom 12 million live in ...
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International Conference On The Great Lakes Region
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), French: ''Conférence Internationale sur la Région des Grands Lacs (CIRGL)'', is an intergovernmental organization of African countries in the African Great Lakes region The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in the wo .... Membership The organisation consists of the following members: * * * * * * * * * * * * Co-opted members * * * * * * * Leaders Executive Secretaries References External links * {{Official website International organizations based in Africa Intergovernmental organizations Organizations established in 2008 Organisations based in Burundi African Great Lakes ...
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Southern African Customs Union
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. Its headquarters are in the Namibian capital, Windhoek. It was established in 1910. History The SACU is the oldest existing customs union in the world. The first customs union in the area was established in 1889 between the British Cape Colony and the Boer republic of the Orange Free State. In 1891 British Bechuanaland and Basutoland joined, followed by Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1893 and Natal in 1899. Parallel to this process, the Boer republic of the South African Republic and Swaziland (then a protectorate of the South African Republic) formed a customs union in 1894. Following the Second Boer War, and the establishment of British control over the Boer republics, the Southern African Customs Union was formed in 1903 with the signing of a new Convention and replaced the previous arrangements. It consisted of Cape C ...
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Mano River Union
The Mano River Union (MRU) is an international association initially established between Liberia and Sierra Leone by the 3 October 1973 Mano River Declaration. It is named for the Mano River which begins in the Guinea highlands and forms a border between Liberia and Sierra Leone. On 25 October 1980, Guinea joined the union. The goal of the Union was to "accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural advancement of our two countries ... by active collaboration and mutual assistance in matters of common interest in economic, social, technical, scientific and administrative fields". However, due to internal conflicts within the two original MRU countries (the Sierra Leone Civil War 991-2002and the First 989-1997and Second Liberian Civil Wars 999-2003, these objectives could not be achieved. The staff numbered 600 in 1986, but was down to 300 in 1993, then to 120, and 48 in 2000. On 20 May 2004, the Union was reactivated at a summit of the three leaders of the Mano ...
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Indian Ocean Commission
The Indian Ocean Commission (french: Commission de l'Océan Indien, COI) is an intergovernmental organisation that links African Indian Ocean nations: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (an overseas region of France), and Seychelles. There are also seven observers: China, the European Union, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Sovereign Order of Malta, India, Japan and the United Nations. The IOC was created in 1982 in Port-Louis, Mauritius, and institutionalised in 1984 by the Victoria Agreement (Seychelles). Historical background The IOC was created in 1982 in Port Louis, by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Mauritius, Madagascar and Seychelles. In 1984, the General Cooperation Agreement signed in Victoria (Seychelles) institutionalised the organization. In 1986, Comoros and France (Réunion Island), joined the organisation. In 1989, the IOC was provided with a General Secretariat. The headquarters of the IOC is located in Mauritius. Develop ...
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Economic Community Of The Great Lakes Countries
The Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC) (in French CEPGL - ''Communauté Économique des Pays des Grand Lacs'') is a sub-regional organization with multiple purposes created by the signing of the Agreement of Gisenyi in Rwanda on September 20, 1976, aiming at ensuring the safety of member states, favoring the creation and development of activities of public interest, promoting the trades and traffic of persons and possessions, and establishing close cooperation among all domains of political, economic, and social life. It has three members: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire), and Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator .... Its main purpose is to promote regional economic cooperation and integration. The CEPGL c ...
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West African Economic And Monetary Union
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million. Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC), the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union. The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou. The ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc's member countries at times ...
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Economic And Monetary Community Of Central Africa
The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; french: Communauté Économique des États de l'Afrique Centrale, CEEAC; es, Comunidad Económica de los Estados de África Central, CEEAC; pt, Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África Central, CEEAC) is an African Economic Community, Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa. It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise the standard of living of its populations and maintain economic stability through harmonious cooperation". History Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa The Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (or UDEAC from its name in French, ), (in Spanish: , UAEAC), (in Portuguese: , UAEAC), established by the Brazzaville Treaty in 1964, formed a customs union with free trade between members and a common external tariff for imports from other countries. The treaty became effective in 1966 after it was ratified by the then five mem ...
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Spaghetti Bowl Effect
The spaghetti bowl effect is the multiplication of free trade agreements (FTAs), supplanting multilateral World Trade Organization negotiations as an alternative path toward globalization. The term was first used by Jagdish Bhagwati in 1995 in the paper: “''US Trade policy: The infatuation with free trade agreements''”, where he openly criticized FTAs as being paradoxically counter-productive in promoting freer and more opened global trades. According to Bhagwati, too many crisscrossing FTAs would allow countries to adopt discriminatory trade policies and reduce the economic benefits of trade. Context In 1947, the most economically prominent nations signed the multilateral General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), whose main goals were to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers as well as eliminate discriminatory treatments between signatory countries. After gradual rounds of negotiations, more countries were integrated and tariffs were significantly reduced. The World Tr ...
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