With regard to the:
Emphasising that, in the Andorra Manifesto of 2017, we Liberals committed to:
We Liberals declare, on the occasion of the 203rd Executive Committee Meeting of the Liberal International in Morocco, that:
Globalisation, free trade and new technologies have lifted hundreds of millions of people around the world out of poverty. This upward trend has become especially apparent in Africa: Since the turn of the millennium, many African countries are booming. The continent has a high potential and will play an increasingly important role in our global economy in the future.
As Liberals, we know that economic progress leads to prosperity and peace. Regional integration is an important step in this process as it paves the way for economic development. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which came into force in May 2019, is a major and transformational intraregional initiative, comprising 54 African countries and roughly 1.2 billion people. AfCFTA has the potential to boost intra-African trade, which is currently the lowest intraregional trade in the world, by roughly 50 percent. Regional integration also opens the door to intra-African and global value chains and thus promotes the transformation of countries offering mainly unprocessed goods to become suppliers of valuable goods for the global market. More integrated markets make Africa also more attractive for foreign direct investment and help to create jobs which is especially important regarding Africa’s growing population. Better prospects for decent work, in turn, help to minimise brain drain and migration from Africa.
We acknowledge the AU as the overarching body in Africa to monitor and ensure good governance and the roll out of intra-regional infrastructure to ensure success of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA).
We see Africans as equal partners and condemn protectionism and any form international economic and political interaction that has the effect to weaken the sovereignty of States and the rights and well-being of their citizens.
We applaud the initiative of the European Commission for a new alliance with Africa to deepen economic relations and boost investments and jobs. We also appreciate the Commission’s plans to integrate the numerous European-African trade agreements into a continent-to-continent free trade agreement, as an economic partnership between equals.
We call for the widest international support to the successful reform of the World Trade Organisation and to its future actions, and we ask the WTO to include the principles, values and orientations of this Declaration in its functioning. Trade is a multiplier of growth and must bring its contribution to fair development, shared prosperity and the fight against climate change in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The international community must recall that the GATT Agreement was not only about liberalisation but also about sustainability and that therefore the WTO has a special responsibility to advance a sustainable liberalisation of the world economy.
We acknowledge that new technologies, such as blockchain technology, have the potential to intensify economic integration and trade by reducing deficits in the areas of access to the financial system, (intellectual) property protection and tax administration and decreasing trade costs by digitising bills of lading and making them more secure. It also helps to counter corruption and fraud by promoting transparency and security of processes.
Calls on all African states to join Benin and Nigeria in signing up to the WTO plurilateral initiative on trade-related aspects of e-commerce, as a common rulebook can lead to a boost of the digital economy, which is key to inclusive growth and sustainable development.
We strongly believe that a democratic state governed by good governance that ensures the rule of law and human rights is the only form of governance that can guarantee sustainable economic progress for the benefit of all.
We recognise that women as much as men play a crucial role in contributing to innovation and economic progress.
We agree that an increased integration contributes to sustainable peace on the continent and the world.
We thus agree to the following liberal principles of Free Trade, Direct Investment and Integrated Markets in Africa, adopted by the 203rd Executive Committee of Liberal International:
We liberals support the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) of the African Union. We encourage our countries to adapt our trade relations and agreements towards this African agreement.
We actively resist new forms of international dominance in Africa and instead we promote partnerships of equals.
We support intra-African value chains and Africa’s integration into regional and global value chains.
We promote low carbon and resilient investment across borders, especially in Africa, and commit to pursue it by way of partnership and fairness, and we stress that investments must be environmentally responsible, climate-resilient and supportive of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
We ensure that entrepreneurs and the private sector are given a voice and the support to build strong partnerships in the region in order to promote economic development.
We stress the critical and strategic importance of new technologies and of digital development and the need for Africa to fully and assertively embrace the global digital transformation, and in particular the industry 4.0 revolution.
We support the rule of law and good governance as the building blocks for economic progress. We therefore encourage all trading parties to adhere to those as well as principles of human rights, efficient administration and a functioning liberal democracy.
We commit to promoting more sustainable economic growth in all three dimensions, environmentally, fiscally and socially.
We commit ourselves to promoting more sustainable, inclusive and equitable growth, minimising existing gender inequalities and laying the foundations for women and men to have equal rights and opportunities to become innovative drivers of change and entrepreneurs.
We commit ourselves to sharing economic growth to reduce income and wealth inequality and to the creation of employment that pays a living wage.
We commit ourselves to consistently pursuing equitably open and free markets, property rights, infrastructure, health and education. We will consistently support a strong and well-functioning global trade regime in defiance of growing protectionism for the benefit of all and in promotion of sustainability and peace among nations.
