Introductory Statement for Workshop on the Cost of Non-Integration in Africa

African integration has mainly been pursued under the political banner of Pan-Africanism, the root of African unity. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) Charter, the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), and the proposed Union Government define integration as one element in African unity. Thus, the political dimension has always taken priority over other aspects of integration at the continental level. However, the small size of most African countries and their economies demands economic collaboration in order to enable African nations to contend with larger economies in the global arena.