Giorgio Andreoli’s Post

EU-Chile - EU Council adopted the Interim Agreement on trade (iTA).  - iTA can enter into force as soon as the Chile completes its internal ratification process. - This iTA focuses on trade and investment liberalisation.  - Investment protection provisions are part of a broader Advanced Framework Agreement (AFA) still in the ratification process within the member states.  - The iTA will expire when the AFA, after ratification by all member states, enters into force. Further info👉https://zurl.co/O6Nu   https://zurl.co/ZOMI

MoU ushers in new era of Sino-Saudi collaboration Acting as the Middle East advisor for China Zheshang Bank, TF International facilitated and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the bank, which is also known as CZBank, and the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia, or MISA, on May 13, making CZBank the first and only Chinese joint-stock commercial bank to sign an MoU with MISA. The MoU provides a clear framework and explicit guidance for future cooperation between the two lenders, against a backdrop in which China pursues a mutually beneficial strategy and high-level opening-up. "China possesses the world's most complete, diverse, and creative supply chain system, while the Middle East is currently a hotbed for long-term industrial capital resources. The establishment of closer economic and trade partnerships between the two sides will create immense opportunities and achieve sustainable economic development," said TF International CEO Zou Chuan. CZBank President Zhang Rongsen said that as a national joint-stock commercial bank, CZBank is committed to fully embracing and implementing the Belt and Road Initiative and actively exploring viable paths for offering high-standard financial services in the region. #stock #BRI #SaudiArabia #CZBank

Join us this week at the 3rd ICPAC Mediterranean Finance Summit on 23-24 May, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Limassol, Cyprus. Valia Babis, Advisor to the Governor at the Bank of Greece, will deliver an insightful keynote speech titled: "Digital Euro: The Proposed Legal Framework & Implications for the Banking Sector," exploring how geopolitical instability and the economic downturn are now impacting banks’ strategies and how banks should prepare for the evolving digital ecosystem. Less than 3 days to go! Secure your spot now to gain valuable insights into the future of banking and the impact of current trends on global finance. Secure your spot now: https://bit.ly/44rUtGT For more information on registration, please contact: [email protected] *ICPAC members qualify for a 15% discount - enquire for a discount code *ACCA members and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) members qualify for a 10% discount - enquire for a discount code #qubevents #ICPAC #Banking #DigitalTransformation #CFO #CEO #Conference #Finance #Accounting #Limassol #Cyprus #FinancialSummit #JoinUs #Innovation #FinanceTrends #FutureOfFinance #ESG #GreenInvesting #Events2024

The #WesternBalkans pays 6 times more than EU counterparts to settle international payments But this is to change, because the region is on its path towards #SEPA membership ⏭️ this will allow fast, safe and efficient payments and bring up to 500 million EUR benefits annually #poweredbyRCC #🇪🇺 #CommonRegionalMarket #GrowthPlan

AfCFTA May UPDATE: Accelerating AFRICA’s development agenda in 2024: The #AfricanContinentalFreeTradeArea (AfCFTA) is the flagship project of the #AfricanUnion’s #Agenda2063, a blueprint for attaining inclusive and sustainable #development across the #continent over the next 50 years. It aims to boost #intraAfricantrade by providing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial #trade agreement among the member states, covering trade in goods and services, #investment, #intellectualpropertyrights and competition policy. The Agreement entered into force on 30 May, 2019 for the 24 countries that had deposited their instruments with the #AfricanUnionCommission (AUC) Chairperson – the designated depositary for this purpose. The #AfCFTASecretariat – charged with various responsibilities related to the implementation of the #AfCFTA – is hosted by Ghana. Wamkele Mene was officially appointed the first Secretary-General of the Secretariat on 19 March 2020, and is now serving his second term. The AfCFTA Secretariat was officially handed over in #Accra, #Ghana on 17 August 2020. Start of trading under the AfCFTA Agreement began on 1 January 2021. As at January 2024, Rules of Origin have been agreed on 92.3% of total tariff lines and the operationalisation of the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS) has been officially launched. On 7 October 2022, the AfCFTA Secretariat launched the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) in #Accra to allow for commercially meaningful trade under the Agreement to commence for EIGHT (8) participating countries: #Cameroon 🇨🇲, #Egypt 🇪🇬, #Ghana 🇬🇭, #Kenya 🇰🇪, #Mauritius 🇲🇺, #Rwanda 🇷🇼, #Tanzania 🇹🇿 and #Tunisia 🇹🇳, representing the five regions of #AFRICA. This initiative is being used to pilot the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA. In 2024, the scope of the #GTI has been expanded in both product and country coverage across the five African regions and Islands States, with a total of thirty-five (35) State Parties having expressed interest to or have joined the initiative. As at May 2024, 47 of the 54 signatories (85.2%) have deposited their instruments of AfCFTA ratification with the #AUC Chairperson. Note: #Eritrea 🇪🇷 ONLY country not to sign the AfCFTA agreement. #BurkinaFaso 🇧🇫 #Guinea 🇬🇳 #Mali 🇲🇱 #Niger 🇳🇪 and #Gabon 🇬🇦 are currently SUSPENDED from the African Union. Slowly progressing towards #TheAfricaWeWant #UnitedUnderAfCFTA #AfricaYesWeCAN #TransformingAfrica #BrandAfrica #Africa #AfricaMeansBusiness #ThisIsAfrica #Diaspora #IT #OneAfrica #TransAfricanHighway #SMEs #CreatingOneAfricanMarket #Partnerships #AfCFTATV #BuildBackBetter #AfricanUnity #SAATM #TradeInAfrica #TradeUnderAfCFTA #JoinAfCFTA #AfricaOnTheMove #Tourism #Infrastructure #MadeInAfrica #AfCFTASecretariat #PanAfricanism #Investors #PAPSS #ZLECAF #StrongerTogether #TradeNotAid #AfricanSolutionsToAfricanProblems #Afreximbank #VisitAfrica #AfCFTA2024 #Africa2024

AfCFTA April UPDATE: Accelerating AFRICA’s development agenda in 2024: The #AfricanContinentalFreeTradeArea (AfCFTA) is the flagship project of the #AfricanUnion’s #Agenda2063, a blueprint for attaining inclusive and sustainable #development across the #continent over the next 50 years. It aims to boost #intraAfricantrade by providing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial #trade agreement among the member states, covering trade in goods and services, #investment, #intellectualpropertyrights and competition policy. The Agreement entered into force on 30 May, 2019 for the 24 countries that had deposited their instruments with the #AfricanUnionCommission (AUC) Chairperson – the designated depositary for this purpose. The #AfCFTASecretariat – charged with various responsibilities related to the implementation of the #AfCFTA – is hosted by Ghana. Wamkele Mene was officially appointed the first Secretary-General of the Secretariat on 19 March 2020, and is now serving his second term. The AfCFTA Secretariat was officially handed over in #Accra, #Ghana on 17 August 2020. Start of trading under the AfCFTA Agreement began on 1 January 2021. As at January 2024, Rules of Origin have been agreed on 92.3% of total tariff lines and the operationalisation of the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS) has been officially launched. On 7 October 2022, the AfCFTA Secretariat launched the AfCFTA #GuidedTradeInitiative (GTI) in #Accra to allow for commercially meaningful trade under the Agreement to commence for EIGHT (8) participating countries: #Cameroon 🇨🇲, #Egypt 🇪🇬, #Ghana 🇬🇭, #Kenya 🇰🇪, #Mauritius 🇲🇺, #Rwanda 🇷🇼, #Tanzania 🇹🇿 and #Tunisia 🇹🇳, representing the five regions of #AFRICA. This initiative is being used to pilot the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA. In 2024, the scope of the #GTI has been expanded in both product and country coverage across the five African regions and Islands States, with a total of thirty-five (35) State Parties having expressed interest or have joined the initiative. As at April 2024, 47 of 54 signatories (85.2%) have deposited their instruments of AfCFTA ratification with the #AUC. Note: #Eritrea 🇪🇷 ONLY country not to sign the AfCFTA agreement. #BurkinaFaso 🇧🇫 #Guinea 🇬🇳 #Mali 🇲🇱 #Niger 🇳🇪 and #Gabon 🇬🇦 are currently SUSPENDED from the AU. Slowly progressing towards #TheAfricaWeWant #UnitedUnderAfCFTA #AfricaYesWeCAN #TransformingAfrica #BrandAfrica #Africa #AfricaMeansBusiness #ThisIsAfrica #Diaspora #IT #OneAfrica #TransAfricanHighway #SMEs #CreatingOneAfricanMarket #Partnerships #AfCFTATV #BuildBackBetter #AfricanUnity #SAATM #TradeInAfrica #TradeUnderAfCFTA #JoinAfCFTA #AfricaOnTheMove #Infrastructure #MadeInAfrica #AfCFTASecretariat #PanAfricanism #Investors #PAPSS #ZLECAF #StrongerTogether #AfCFTA2024 #AfricanSolutionsToAfricanProblems #BetterAfricaBetterWorld #Afreximbank #Africa2024

🚨 #FDI Public service announcement: the Romanian Competition Council has begun publishing its FDI clearance decisions in redacted form on its website (currently available for 2024 and in Romanian only). This is a highly anticipated and significant development for practitioners, as it sheds light on some of the much-debated aspects of the authority's decisional practice: - the types of investments that fall under the 13 broadly defined sensitive sectors; and - the types of transactions subject to review. While each case outcome may not be directly applicable to future cases, having this precedent is incredibly valuable. Previously, the lack of publicly available decisions left investors in the dark, making them reluctant to notify. Here's to hoping that this transparency will encourage more informed decision-making among investors.

AfCFTA JULY UPDATE: Accelerating AFRICA’s development agenda in 2024: The #AfricanContinentalFreeTradeArea (AfCFTA) is the flagship project of the #AfricanUnion’s #Agenda2063, a blueprint for attaining inclusive and sustainable #development across the #continent over the next 50 years. It aims to boost #intraAfricantrade by providing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial #trade agreement among the member states, covering trade in goods and services, #investment, #intellectualpropertyrights and competition policy. The Agreement entered into force on 30 May, 2019 for the 24 countries that had deposited their instruments with the #AfricanUnionCommission (AUC)Chairperson-the designated depositary for this purpose. The #AfCFTASecretariat – charged with various responsibilities related to the implementation of the #AfCFTA – is hosted by Ghana. Wamkele Mene was officially appointed the first Secretary-General of the Secretariat on 19 March 2020, and is now serving his second term. The AfCFTA Secretariat was officially handed over in #Accra, #Ghana on 17 August 2020. Start of trading under the AfCFTA Agreement began on 1 January 2021. As at January 2024, Rules of Origin have been agreed on 92.3% of total tariff lines and the operationalisation of the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (#PAPSS) has been officially launched. On 7 October 2022, the AfCFTA Secretariat launched the #AfCFTAGuidedTradeInitiative (GTI) in #Accra to allow for commercially meaningful trade under the Agreement to commence for EIGHT (8) participating countries: #Cameroon 🇨🇲, #Egypt 🇪🇬, #Ghana 🇬🇭, #Kenya 🇰🇪, #Mauritius 🇲🇺, #Rwanda 🇷🇼, #Tanzania 🇹🇿 and #Tunisia 🇹🇳, representing the five regions of #AFRICA. This initiative is being used to pilot the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA. In 2024, the scope of the #GTI has been expanded in both product and country coverage across the five African regions and Islands States, with a total of thirty-five (35) State Parties having expressed interest to or have joined the initiative. As at JULY 2024, 47 of the 54 signatories (85.2%) have deposited their instruments of AfCFTA ratification with the #AUC Chairperson. Note: #Eritrea 🇪🇷 ONLY country not to sign the AfCFTA agreement. #BurkinaFaso 🇧🇫 #Guinea 🇬🇳 #Mali 🇲🇱 #Niger 🇳🇪 and #Gabon 🇬🇦 are currently SUSPENDED from the African Union. Slowly progressing towards #TheAfricaWeWant #UnitedUnderAfCFTA #AfricaYesWeCAN #TransformingAfrica #BrandAfrica #Africa #AfricaMeansBusiness #ThisIsAfrica #Diaspora #IT #OneAfrica #TransAfricanHighway #SMEs #CreatingOneAfricanMarket #Partnerships #AfCFTATV #BuildBackBetter #AfricanUnity #SAATM #TradeInAfrica #TradeUnderAfCFTA #JoinAfCFTA #AfricaOnTheMove #Tourism #Infrastructure #MadeInAfrica #AfCFTASecretariat #PanAfricanism #Investors #ZLECAF #StrongerTogether #TradeNotAid #AfricanSolutionsToAfricanProblems #Afreximbank #VisitAfrica #AfCFTA2024 #Africa2024

“I would like to draw our attention to the inadequacies which continue to challenge us in the completion of the work of integration” The 6ᵗʰ AU mid-year conference closed yesterday. In his statement, the AUC Chairperson issued a strong appeal to AU Member States and RECs. With the advent of the AfCFTA, the outgoing AUC chairperson shared five key thoughts to help the institution move forward. 1️⃣ "The First one relates to the issue of sovereignty" Supranationality and subsidiarity need to be adequately addressed for the AU and REC institutions to fulfil their purposes 2️⃣ "The Second one is to maximise the potential of the AfCFTA to make it an engine of growth and diversification of our economies, with a view to increasing trade within the Continent" Amid numerous decisions, the AU has yet to speak with one voice in international forums. The AfCFTA offers a platform to coordinate economic and trade matters. 3️⃣ "The Third observation relates to the capacity to guarantee a fair distribution of costs and benefits resulting from integration" Confidence-building requires voluntary measures to ensure progress in the intended direction. 4️⃣ "The Fourth observation relates to our capacity to build complementary relationships between the AfCFTA and the Regional Economic Communities" A well-designed interface between the AfCFTA and the REC trade programs will clarify the complementarity of integration levels. 5️⃣ "The Fifth observation is linked to the enhancement of the interaction between the economic integration of the Continent and the consolidation of peace and security" Integration and peace are interconnected, and the Union and RECs should invest in them. Expectations are high that the upcoming AfCFTA negotiations will deliver new results regarding tariff liberalisation and rules of origin by September. The statement recalls what is at stake.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat is an institution that will benefit non African industry. In my opinion and analysis, I have not seen a moment when Africans have done something entirely on their own. AfCFTA was doomed from the start. Most of presidents are signing free trade agreements like monkeys jumping up and down, turning AfCFTA into a dumping ground for non-African products. Some of us are trying to set up factories to serve African markets, but leaders in Ghana and Kenya are undermining these efforts by signing agreements that destroy the principles behind AfCFTA dialogues. Now, we have the retiree Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, EGH, dreaming of leading the failed African Union. The African Union is managed by imperialists and is just another jamboree. Moussa Faki spent years at that institution. When Jean Ping was there, we drafted a preliminary version of AfCFTA with Swiss colleagues and a Togolese friend who served the WTO for 20 years. I see these consultants' works as academic articles on free trade with no practical value—mere advisory to get free money. The AfCFTA Secretariat is an open ground for outsiders, on a continent with 60% youth unemployment. I believe the African Union should be demoted; it is a mega jamboree. Another political movement will soon demote the AfCFTA Secretariat.