Assembly/AU/Decl.1(XVIII) Page 2 2. CALL ON Member States, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and AU Commission to promote industrial development of the continent, and value addition with a view to diversifying economies and moving away from reliance on traditional export of commodities; 3. ENDORSE the Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade and REQUEST the AU Commission, in collaboration with RECs, Member States, and development partners, to develop an implementation strategy for the Action Plan; 4. CALL ON Member States, RECS, the AU Commission and development partners to adopt the necessary measures towards the effective implementation of the Action Plan; 5. REQUEST Member States supported by the AU Commission and the RECs to drive the process of boosting intra-African trade and the CFTA negotiations through the implementation of the short, medium and long-term programmes and activities contained in the Action Plan at the national, regional and continental; 6. DECIDE that the CFTA should be operationalized by the indicative date of 2017, based on the framework, Roadmap and Architecture, with the following appropriate milestones: 7. 8. • Finalization of the East African Community (EAC)- the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)- Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tripartite FTA initiative by 2014; • Completion of FTA(s) by Non-Tripartite RECs, through parallel arrangement(s) similar to the EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite Initiative or reflecting the preferences of their Member States, between 2012 and 2014; • Consolidation of the Tripartite and other regional FTAs into a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) initiative between 2015 and 2016; • Establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by 2017 with the option to review the target date according to progress made. REQUEST the Commission, in collaboration with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other relevant agencies, to take appropriate measures including studies, technical support to RECs and sensitization of Member States and partners, for the effective implementation of the CFTA Road Map; ENDORSE the Framework, Road Map and Architecture for Fast Tracking the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and the Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade, with the understanding that the High Level African Trade Committee (HATC) will provide a facilitating role and unlock any blockages