Legal Framework for Monetary Integration in West Africa—AfCFTA

Abstract This chapter focuses on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which is an agreement between 54 African countries to create a common market of over 1.2 billion people. AfCFTA was enacted as a direct solution to some of the seven aspirations of Agenda 2063, including social and economic development, integration, governance, peace, and security. Moreover, the agreement was expected to merge the markets by advocating for the free flow of people and goods. The chapter then elaborates on Agenda 2063, a 50-year development plan expected to result in an integrated Africa. It describes the attempts at monetary integration in West Africa prior to the AfCFTA and posits that the AfCFTA could finally provide the basis for achieving monetary integration in West Africa.