African trade ministers have adopted a unified continental position on World Trade Organisation matters ahead of the organisation’s 14th Ministerial Conference, with the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area emphasising the mutually reinforcing relationship between multilateralism and regional integration as essential to advancing Africa’s economic interests.
Wamkele Mene participated in the African Group Ministerial Meeting on WTO matters convened in Maputo by Mozambique in its capacity as Coordinator of the African Group in Geneva. The African Group Ministerial Meeting is a coalition of African member states that coordinates negotiating positions and advocacy within the multilateral trading system.
The gathering brought together trade ministers from across the continent to forge strategic alignment in preparation for the 14th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, scheduled to be held in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
The meeting culminated in the adoption of a common African position articulated in a ministerial declaration that provides clear political guidance to African negotiators on the key issues to be addressed at the Ministerial Conference.
A central theme emerging from the interventions of Secretary-General H.E. Mene and the assembled ministers was the close and mutually reinforcing relationship between multilateralism and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
This conceptual linkage positions the AfCFTA not as an alternative to multilateral engagement but as a complement that strengthens Africa’s capacity to participate effectively in the global trading system.
The Secretary-General’s emphasis on this mutually reinforcing relationship reflects sophisticated strategic thinking that position the AfCFTA as part of Africa’s toolkit for engaging the multilateral system rather than as a retreat into regionalism.
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