collective responses. In part, this could be done through the regular engagements at the APR Forum of Heads of State and Government. The APRM could also use its convening power (perhaps in collaboration with other structures in the AU) to organise information-sharing and reflection sessions, to assist countries in cooperating with one another. What the APRM does about fragmented markets, market access and expansion The APRM addresses this issue in the Economic Governance and Management (EGM) thematic area. Objective 5 under this thematic area aims to: ‗Accelerate and deepen regional integration in the monetary, trade and investment domain.‘ The four questions intended to focus the review process on the above Objective provide: Bottleneck 4: Fragmented markets, market access and expansion   Concept Africa‘s division into a patchwork of 55 states – many with very small populations and economies – has proved a burden on its development. Globally, successful countries are increasingly looking beyond their borders for opportunities, since larger markets create bigger opportunities. Echoing President Museveni, the economist Paul Collier points out:89   Scale and specialisation, the cornerstones of productivity, can take place only in large markets. Most African countries constitute small markets, and so trade with other countries is critical to rising prosperity. International trade is in Africa‘s blood: even in the 12th century, African traders were exchanging goods over huge distances. Yet many countries are now economically isolated because of a combination of inadequate transport infrastructure and bureaucratic impediments to the free flow of commerce. Being small and isolated is, in economic terms, a death sentence: people are trapped in the inevitable poverty of low-productivity activities. In addition, Objective 6 seeks to ‗develop and implement trade and investment policies that promote economic growth‗. Again, four of the six questions under this Objective are directly relevant to the issue of regional economic integration:  Question 1: ―To what extent are your country‘s investment policies facilitative of economic growth?‖  Question 2: ―To what extent do investment authorities in your country coordinate, exchange information and work with counterparts in other countries?‖  Question 3: ―To what extent are your country‘s trade policies facilitative of economic growth?‖  Question 4: ―What measures has your country taken to promote trade with other countries, in particular intra-regional trade? How successful have these measures been?‖ Agenda 2063 aspires to an Africa that is a major social, political and economic force in the world. It seeks ‗an integrated continent, politically united based on the ideals of Pan Africanism and the vision of Africa‘s Renaissance‘.90 This envisages a continent that is united politically and economically, which holds significant developmental potential for the continent. Finally, it is notable that this section is related to Bottlenecks no. 2 (interference with the private sector), no. 5 (lack of industrialisation and low value addition), no. 6 (underdeveloped infrastructure), no. 7 (under-development of human resources) no. 9 (under-development of agriculture), and no. 9 (under-development of the services sector). 89 90 Question 1: ‗What regional economic organizations is your country a member of and what are the advantages?‘ Question 2: ‗In which areas and to what extent have your country‘s economic policies been harmonized with those of the RECs you have identified?‘ Question 3: ‗What are the challenges facing your country in the various RECs it is a member of? How can they be addressed?‘ Question 4: ‗To what degree are informal cross-border economic transactions important to your country‘s economy?‘ All this shows that regional integration and trade are at the centre of the APRM initiative. In that spirit, regional and continental integration is dealt with in a number of the standards, including:   Collier P, „Reimagining the African continent‟, Mail and Guardian Online (12 June 2015). Agenda 2063, pp. 10-12. 28 AU, AU Constitutive Act (2000, Lomé, Togo) AU, NEPAD Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance (2002, Durban, South Africa)