By Bongiwe Dlamini

MBABANE:King Mswati has urged South Korea investors to consider establishing businesses in eSwatini amid the opportunities that comes with the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA).

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was established in terms of the African Free Trade agreement,it is considered the largest free trade area after the World Trade Organization(WTO).

Speaking during the Korea-Africa Business Summit held on the sidelines of the Korea-Africa Summit on Wednesday,the King who was represented by Commerce, Industry and Trade Minister Mancoba Khumalo said,AfCFTA had the potential to reach R20trillion while creating 14million jobs.

“At full implementation,Africa’s manufacturing sector has the potential to reach 1 trillion US dollars (E20 trillion) in 2025, creating 14 million stable jobs. AfCFTA will also provide African countries, including Eswatini, with a huge market share of 1.3 billion people and a wide market access of 3.1 billion US dollars (approximately E60 billion).We believe that AfCFTA has the potential for broader and deeper economic integration and would attract investment, boost trade, including intra-African trade, provide better jobs, reduce poverty, and increase shared prosperity in Africa.Multinational and domestic companies looking to expand, particularly in Southern Africa and to serve the region, continent and the rest of the world from Eswatini will be properly positioned to use us as their launching pad”, said the King as quoted by Government online platforms.

The King further mentioned that,the Kingdom of Eswatini “is a signatory to and beneficiary of several bilateral, regional, continental,and multilateral trade and cooperation agreements,he said this “has the dual effect of expanding the country’s international trade and market access opportunities, as well as realising an increase in investment for both trade in goods and services”.