By Samuel Akpan
In a push for continental integration, President Tinubu met with Paul Kagame to discuss granting Rwandans 30-day visa-free entry to Nigeria.
This reciprocal move is designed to boost bilateral trade and strengthen people-to-people connections.
The discussions took place at the Urugwiro presidential villa, according to a statement released by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
Persecondnews reports that Tinubu is currently in the Rwandan capital to attend the Africa CEO Forum, which opens on Thursday, May 14.
Both leaders explored fresh ways to fully activate the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) between their nations.
They focused on dismantling barriers to goods, services and labour mobility that directly support cross-border commerce.
The two presidents also reiterated the urgent need to revive the Joint Permanent Ministerial Commission (JPMC), the bilateral framework signed in 2021, describing it as the key platform for turning shared goals into concrete results.
Rwanda remains one of only a few African Union member states offering citizens of other AU countries a 30-day visa-free stay.
While Agenda 2063 and the African passport initiative establish a framework for continental mobility, a significant gap remains between these policy goals and their practical implementation.
Persecondnews reports that five years after trading began in 2021, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is delivering measurable gains in intra-African commerce while laying the groundwork for deeper economic integration across a 1.4-billion-person market worth $3.4 trillion today.
Intra-African trade hit $220.3 billion in 2024—a robust 12.4% rebound—driven by tariff reductions, the rollout of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), and the Guided Trade Initiative now active in nearly 40 countries.
Projections from Afreximbank point to a further 10% rise to $230 billion in 2026, pushing intra-African trade’s share of the continent’s total commerce toward 18%.
Africa’s overall GDP growth accelerated to 4.2% in 2025 and is forecast to reach 4.3% in 2026, with AfCFTA reforms cited as a key stabilizer amid global headwinds.
The agreement is shifting trade patterns toward manufactured goods, agri-food, and services, reducing reliance on commodity exports and building regional value chains.
Long-term models from the World Bank and UNECA suggest full implementation could deliver a cumulative $450 billion GDP boost by 2035, lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty, and raise Africa’s exports to the rest of the world by up to 32%.
Sectoral wins are emerging: Manufacturing and digital trade are expanding, supported by new protocols on investment and e-commerce.
PAPSS alone is slashing foreign-exchange conversion costs by an estimated $5 billion annually, making cross-border business more viable for SMEs.
Countries like Kenya, Morocco, and Ethiopia have recorded improved export diversification indices, while FDI inflows to AfCFTA states rose 17% between 2021 and 2023.
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