AfCFTA urged to accelerate implementation as leaders push for deeper African trade integration
Date: 2026-05-19
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
The
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has underscored the
need to accelerate the implementation of continental trade reforms to achieve
meaningful economic transformation across Africa.
Speaking
at the opening of BiasharaAfrika2026, H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé,
President of the Council of the Republic of Togo, described the AfCFTA as a key
sovereignty tool for strengthening Africa’s economic independence and
resilience.
He
called for urgent action to translate the agreement’s ambitions into tangible
outcomes, highlighting persistent barriers to intra-African trade, including
high logistics costs, non-tariff barriers, and border inefficiencies that
continue to constrain the movement of goods and people across the continent.
Gnassingbé
stressed that in an evolving global geopolitical environment, no African
economy can effectively safeguard its interests in isolation, emphasizing the
growing importance of regional integration and coordinated economic policy.
He
noted that Africa’s transformation will depend on the development of stronger
regional value chains, a competitive private sector, and inclusive
participation by women, youth, and small and medium-sized enterprises in the
opportunities created under the AfCFTA framework.
The
Togolese leader further urged participants at BiasharaAfrika2026 to move beyond
dialogue and position the platform as a driver of practical solutions and
implementation-focused outcomes aimed at advancing continental trade
integration and economic growth.
