The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has urged African countries to strengthen regional value chains, industrialisation and infrastructure to increase their influence in global trade.
Addressing the conference on Africa and the Geoeconomics of African States, Integration, Power and Structural Transformation in Abuja, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, who was represented by Dr. Jan Yves Remy of International Trade and WTO, said that Africa was strategically positioned to benefit from changing global trade patterns.
She cited the continent’s natural resources, youthful population and connections with international markets as key advantages.
She said that Africa held nearly 30 per cent of the world’s critical mineral reserves, including cobalt, lithium, manganese, copper, nickel and graphite.
However, she noted that the continent accounted for only 3 per cent of global exports, despite its vast resource potential.
She said that Africa needed to strengthen its productive capacity and add value to its natural resources.
“Africa must move beyond exporting raw materials to processing and manufacturing products locally to retain more economic value,” she said.
She described the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a geo-economic instrument for expanding production and creating regional value chains.
She said that intra-African exports accounted for about 17 per cent of the continent’s merchandise exports in 2024, indicating significant room for expansion.
The WTO chief identified infrastructure gaps, institutional weaknesses and non-tariff barriers as major obstacles to implementing the continental trade agreement.
She called for improved roads, ports, electricity, shipping connections and trade finance to facilitate regional commerce.
She also advocated efficient customs procedures and predictable regulations to promote cross-border trade.
Okonjo-Iweala urged African universities and WTO chairs to strengthen research, training and policy engagement.
She said that intellectual capacity was essential to building the continent’s economic influence.
In his speech, the Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof. Bond Anyaehie, called for stronger African economic integration to promote industrialisation and global competitiveness.
Anyaehie said that Africa should move beyond trade integration to building collective economic power through infrastructure development, industrialisation and competitive local enterprises.
He said that trade liberalisation without adequate infrastructure and a continental market without competitive African businesses could not deliver meaningful economic transformation.
“The success of AfCFTA should be measured by Africa’s ability to source inputs, manufacture products, provide services and finance trade through indigenous institutions,” he said.
The vice-chancellor lamented that some African-made products were exported, rebranded abroad and returned to the continent as foreign goods.
The event was organised by the university’s National Centre for Regional Integration and Trade Research.
GIK/APA