{"id":1186,"date":"2015-07-01T12:00:23","date_gmt":"2015-07-01T11:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/africa\/?p=1186"},"modified":"2016-10-27T15:25:54","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T14:25:54","slug":"the-african-economic-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/africa\/2015\/07\/01\/the-african-economic-community\/","title":{"rendered":"The African Economic Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago I had to travel to Switzerland. As I was preparing for the trip, I wondered whether I needed my passport or if my Spanish ID would suffice.<\/strong> Switzerland doesn\u2019t belong to the European Union but I wasn\u2019t sure about this type of administrative arrangement between it and the EU member countries. \u00a0If these doubts arise in relation to a country on the same continent as mine, regarding something as common as crossing borders, imagine what could happen when we\u2019re talking about more distant countries and more complicated administrative procedures! Depending on where you are from, you might not even know that an African Economic Community (AEC) is being created.\u00a0 <\/span><\/a>\n

\"Regional<\/a>
Regional Economic Communities contribute increasing trade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1991 a Treaty was signed in Abuja, Nigeria to establish the AEC.<\/strong> The Treaty became operational in 1994. Rather than a starting point, the AEC is the final objective towards which various African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have been working. I think this is a very African approach: walk the walk together, and focus on the process.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u201cactive pillars\u201d of the AEC are:<\/p>\n