Weaker African nations seen benefiting from free trade JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — Weaker countries that fear being overwhelmed in a huge African free trade area will benefit from it in the long term, a development expert said Sunday as leaders of 26 governments began negotiations to create the zone encompassing nearly 600 million people and a combined gross domestic product of more than $800 billion.
In the short term, “you have to acknowledge the fact that within an FTA there are winners and losers,” said Kennedy Mbekeani, an African Development Bank official. But as the zone helps boost the region’s economies, he said, smaller members will benefit and find and develop sectors where they have competitive advantage.
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