AU’S Economic Integration

AFRICAN nations established the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of the AU, in 1963, ushering in a new era of exploring continental economic integration after gaining independence. The efforts were driven by Pan-africanism that advocates unity and solidarity among all Africans. According to Pan-africanists, integration is the ultimate vision as well as the guarantee to fulfill prosperity.

In the 1960s, African countries have been actively promoting the establishment of regional organizations on economic cooperation. Such endeavors include agreement on a customs union, single monetary zone and unified policy to promote agricultural products like coffee and peanuts. But the process of integration was very slow.

In the 1990s, efforts to advance integration began to step up. In 1991, the treaty establishing the African Economic Community, commonly known as the Abuja Treaty, was signed, rolling out a roadmap for continental economic integration. It also meant leapfrogging progress in achieving free trade and coordinated policy across borders. In 2015, the AU adopted the 2063 Agenda as a long-term action plan to realize the vision of transforming Africa into an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent within 50 years.

Challenges ahead Currently, intensifying turmoil in some regions is damaging economies in African countries, jeopardizing the process of integration. The AU must effectively deal with the following challenges.

First, terrorism from the Middle East is penetrating the continent. Typically, the so-called Islamic State is a result of religious extremism. Against such a backdrop, terrorism is infiltrating Africa, especially North Africa and East Africa that are geographically adjacent to the Middle East. The Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram and Somalia’s militant faction al-shabaab have posed acute threats to political stability and security and disrupted African economies.

Second, some African countries are overly dependent on energy exports and troubled by stagnant economies and grave financial pressure in a depressed international energy market. Oil exports used to bring tremendous revenues to Angola, Nigeria and Libya. However, the international crude oil price plummeted from the second half of 2014, shocking the entire world with Africa being no exception. The fall in price was proven to be no accident, but a continual process with no signs of recovery to date.

Third, as the world economy slows down and protectionism rises, some developed countries will cut aid to Africa. The global economy now faces multiple challenges. The developed nations remain challenged with sluggish recovery, while the growth rates of emerging economies are slowing down, resulting in chronically weak energy consumption. The trade protectionism is undermining efforts of some international and regional free trade agreements. The free trade mechanisms of the World Trade Organization, the EU and the NAFTA have been under threats and negotiations of the Trans-pacific Partnership Agreement are deadlocked. Since Donald Trump became the President of the United States, some extreme conservatives are influencing global trade. Brexit escalated the dispute on whether to abolish the free trade agreement between Britain and the EU and there remains a chance that tariff wars, trade