The 2019 AU Niger Special Summit No. 7 was held in Niamey, the capital of Niger. This summit discussed the progress of the construction of the free trade zone since the signing of the African Free Trade Area Agreement and introduced a number of supporting measures to ensure the smooth operation of the Free Trade Zone. At the same time, the African Free Trade Area was officially launched on the same day.

At the launching ceremony of the FTA on the African continent, AU Chairman-in-Office, Egyptian President Cessi, Niger President Issouf and AU Commission Chairman Faki jointly presided over the opening ceremony of the FTA Memorial Plate. With the joint efforts of the AU and the signatories, after more than one year's operation, the African Continental Free Trade Area was formally established.

The African Free Trade Area Agreement was signed in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda on March 21, 2018. It was attended by 44 African countries to promote free trade among African countries and to break regional trade barriers in African countries. On May 30 this year, 22 signatory countries formally approved the agreement, reaching the minimum number of ratifications required for the entry into force of the agreement, and the African Free Trade Area Agreement came into effect. The number of African countries that have joined the agreement has reached 54, and the number of countries that have ratified the agreement has reached 25. Of the 55 countries in Africa, only Eritrea has still not joined the agreement.

It is reported that after all signatory countries have joined the African Free Trade Zone, the African Free Trade Zone will become the most free trade zone in the world. This free trade zone will cover 1.2 billion people, and the total GDP will reach 1.2 trillion US dollars. After the operation of the Free Trade Zone, it is estimated that by 2020, the volume of intra-African trade will increase by 52%.