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Home Opinion & Editorial Comment Comment Building Africa bloc by bloc Share Bookmark Print Email Rating South African President Jacob Zuma delivers a speech after an undertaking tor continue further negotiations towards a tripartite free trade agreement in Johannesburg on June 12, 2011. African leaders Sunday agreed to a framework to guide the next phase of negotiations on creating the continent's biggest free-trade bloc. AFP PHOTO South African President Jacob Zuma delivers a speech after an undertaking tor continue further negotiations towards a tripartite free trade agreement in Johannesburg on June 12, 2011. African leaders Sunday agreed to a framework to guide the next phase of negotiations on creating the continent's biggest free-trade bloc. AFP PHOTO By CALESTOUS JUMA (email the author) Posted Monday, June 20 2011 at 15:03 Share This Story 3Share One of the most persistent images of Africa is that of a fragmented continent whose nation states originate from the Western “scramble” for colonies in the 19th century. The recent initiation of negotiations for a Cape-to-Cairo Grand Free Trade Area will reposition Africa as a major player on the global trade scene. The grand free trade area will cover 26 countries with a combined GDP of $875 billion and a combined population of 700 million. This is a significant market, with a single economic space whose systemic benefits will be larger than the sum of the three regional economic communities. It will be more attractive to foreign investors and stimulate large-scale production that will in turn help to lower the price of manufactured goods. It is estimated that exports among the 26 member countries increased from $7 billion in 2000 to $32 billion in 2011, while imports grew from $9 billion to $35 billion over the same period. This phenomenal increase was spurred by the free trade area initiatives of the three regional blocs.