Foreword

Regional integration and the creation of the African common market has been thevision of African leaders since the early years of independence. Africa’s regional economic communities are making significant progress in its attempts to integrate. Improvements have been made in areas including trade, communications, macro economic polices, and transportation. Despite the gains, there are still a number of challenges facing the integration process. These challenges emerged from our first joint publication on regional integration, titled: Assessing Regional Integration in Africa (ARIA 1). Among the key issues is the complex institutional setting under which regional integration schemes have been operating. This is why the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa took the decision to follow the publication of ARIA1 with a series of ARIA publications, examining in detail the key obstacles to integration. ARIA 2, therefore, takes a detailed look at Africa’s regional economic communities (RECs).

Sustainable Development Goals:

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions