African trade ministers have agreed to present a unified and more assertive African position ahead of the 14th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC14), following a high-level Ministerial Retreat held in Marrakech.
The retreat, held on the margins of the second African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Business Forum, brought together African trade ministers and senior officials to align negotiating priorities, strengthen coordination within the African Group and develop a common roadmap to advance Africa’s interests at MC14, scheduled for March 2026 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Addressing the meeting, Ghana’s Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu Adjare, reflected on Africa’s historical marginalisation within the multilateral trading system. She recalled that when the WTO was established in Marrakech in 1994, many African countries arrived “like observers at the table,” joining a system largely shaped by the priorities of others and with limited influence over the outcomes of the Uruguay Round.
While African countries ratified WTO agreements in good faith, the minister said the continent too often found itself acting as a rule-taker rather than a rule-maker. “This is no longer our story,” she stressed, calling for MC14, to be hosted on African soil, to mark a decisive moment for Africa to shape the future of the WTO, including reforms that better support development, preserve policy space for industrialisation and promote a fairer global trading system.
Beyond the retreat discussions, Ofosu Adjare also participated in a ministerial panel focused on translating AfCFTA commitments into tangible commercial outcomes. She called for stronger continental solidarity to address the constraints holding back intra-African trade, citing persistent non-tariff barriers, high logistics costs and weak connectivity, limited availability of vessels for sea transportation, lack of harmonisation in customs and standards procedures, and trade finance gaps that continue to restrict small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly women-led businesses.
She stressed that the AfCFTA would deliver meaningful results only if African countries jointly tackle these bottlenecks through coordinated reforms, improved trade facilitation and targeted investments in transport infrastructure, border systems, standards institutions and digital trade enablers.
The Marrakech engagement concluded with a shared commitment to deepen African coordination ahead of MC14, align negotiating positions and ensure that Africa’s priorities, including productive capacity development, resilience and inclusive growth, are firmly reflected in multilateral trade outcomes.
Ministers reaffirmed that the AfCFTA remains Africa’s primary platform for industrialisation and the development of regional value chains, and that a stronger, unified African voice at MC14 will be essential to shaping a WTO that supports development and delivers tangible benefits for African businesses and citizens.
