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Cardoso, Okonjo-Iweala Push for Stronger Intra-African Trade Amid Global Uncertainty
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, and the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, have urged African countries to deepen regional trade and strengthen economic integration as a strategic response to growing uncertainty in the global economy.
The two economic leaders said Africa can no longer rely on traditional trading partners alone but must leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to build resilient regional value chains, attract investments and accelerate industrialisation.
They spoke on Wednesday at the 7th African Emerging Markets Forum held in Abuja, where policymakers, economists and business leaders examined strategies for building Africa’s resilience amid shifting global trade patterns.
Cardoso said the global economic landscape is undergoing profound changes driven by geopolitical tensions, fragmented trade, tighter capital flows and rapid technological advancement, requiring African countries to rethink their development strategies.
“The question is no longer whether the global order is changing, but how Africa turns that change from a source of vulnerability into a source of growth and shared prosperity,” he said.
He identified fragmented global trade as one of the biggest shifts confronting the continent, noting that countries are increasingly reorganising supply chains around trusted partners through near-shoring and friend-shoring arrangements.
According to him, while the trend poses risks for Africa, it also presents an opportunity to strengthen trade within the continent.
“With intra-African trade still accounting for only about 16 per cent of our total trade, we must build stronger regional value chains, produce more of what we consume and trade more with one another,” Cardoso said.
He described the African Continental Free Trade Area as a historic platform for transforming Africa into a competitive economic bloc but stressed that governments must go beyond signing agreements by removing practical barriers to trade.
These, he said, include improving transport infrastructure, harmonising customs procedures and making cross-border payments faster, cheaper and more efficient.
Cardoso further noted that global investors have become increasingly selective, rewarding countries with transparent policies, credible institutions and macroeconomic stability.
He urged African governments to reduce dependence on foreign capital by mobilising domestic savings, pension funds, insurance assets and diaspora investments to finance productive sectors of their economies.
The CBN governor also called for greater investment in artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and human capital, saying Africa must evolve from being a consumer of technology to becoming an exporter of digital innovation.
“Africa must become creators, developing African solutions to African challenges and building businesses capable of taking those solutions to the world,” he said.
Echoing similar views, Okonjo-Iweala said global trade remains resilient despite geopolitical tensions, with 72 per cent of world merchandise trade still conducted under WTO rules and another 16 per cent taking place through bilateral and regional trade agreements built on WTO principles.
She noted that developing countries are increasingly strengthening economic ties among themselves, with South-South trade now accounting for about one-quarter of global trade, compared to less than one-tenth three decades ago.
According to her, nearly half of all regional trade agreements currently in force are among developing economies, highlighting the growing importance of regional integration.
She urged African countries to take advantage of the ongoing diversification of global supply chains by positioning themselves as competitive manufacturing and processing hubs rather than exporters of raw materials.
“Africa should move away from the extract-and-export model towards higher-value production driven by regional value chains and integration into global supply networks,” she said.
Okonjo-Iweala pointed to Morocco’s development of electric vehicle components from phosphate resources and emerging value-addition initiatives in Nigeria, Zambia, Angola and Mozambique as examples that should be expanded across the continent.
She stressed that African countries should harmonise their industrial strategies to avoid negotiating fragmented bilateral agreements that weaken the continent’s bargaining power.
The WTO chief also called for reforms of the global trading system to accommodate emerging realities, including digital trade, artificial intelligence and green commerce, while preserving the rules-based multilateral trading system.
Commending Nigeria’s recent macroeconomic reforms, she praised Cardoso and the Central Bank for restoring stability in the foreign exchange market and strengthening monetary policy credibility.
However, she stressed that macroeconomic stability must translate into tangible improvements in citizens’ lives through job creation, industrial development and expanded economic opportunities.
“Nigerians have to feel the dividends of reform in the real economy,” she said.
Cardoso agreed, saying Africa’s future competitiveness would depend on four critical pillars: macroeconomic stability, continental market integration, productive long-term investment and a skilled workforce equipped for an AI-driven economy.
He said the continent has a rare opportunity to move from being a passive participant in global commerce to becoming an active architect of the emerging international economic order.
“The world is changing. Let us seize this moment for Africa,” the CBN governor said.
