Local currency makes trade more efficient, affordable: AfCFTA Secy General

In a Q&A, Wamkele Mene, who represents a free trade area in Africa, dwells on the investment opportunities in pharma, auto and agro processing that the continent has to offer

Dwelling on the Reserve Bank of India's announcement of a mechanism to settle international trade in rupees, Wamkele Mene, Secretary General, the African Continental Free Trade Area (a free trade area encompassing most of Africa) tells Shreya Nandi in an interview that using local currency makes trade more efficient, affordable and accessible and can help both India and Africa. There are investment opportunities in the pharmaceuticals, auto sector, and agro processing space in Africa that can be tapped, Mene said at the sidelines of the 17th CII-Exim Bank conclave. Edited excerpts:

What steps can be taken to boost trade between