Africa to Speak with One Voice for WTO Reform
Workshop of the African Group of Ambassadors in Preparation for the Fourteen (14th) Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization
8 December 2025
Africa’s participation in global trade remains significantly disproportionate to its demographic weight. While the continent is home to approximately 16% of the world’s population, it accounts for less than 2.9% of global trade volume. This imbalance is rooted in systemic asymmetries in the multilateral trading system, persistent structural challenges (including inadequate infrastructure and limited industrial capacity), and the continuing marginalization of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Key obstacles also include limited industrial capacity, low diversification of production and exports, and persistent gaps in technology and trade finance.
Despite the huge presence of African countries in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the continent remains marginalised in the multilateral trading system (MTS). It is against this background that the African Group of Ambassadors convened a one-day strategic retreat to prepare the African Common Position at the fourteenth Ministerial Conference (MC14), scheduled for March 2026, Yaoundé, Cameroon. The strategic retreat discussed Africa’s position on various thematic areas on the MC14, ranging from WTO Reform, Agriculture, Development including Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT), Fisheries subsidies, Trade in Financial Services, E-commerce and Accession into the WTO by new members.
The WTO MC14 scheduled for March 26-29, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon, presents a unique and critical opportunity for the African continent. Hosting the Ministerial Conference for only the second time (after Nairobi in 2015) places the African Group at the diplomatic and substantive epicentre of global trade discussions. Speaking at the retreat, Dr Girma Amente Nono, the Permanent Observer of the African Union in Geneva welcomed Ambassadors to the strategic retreat and urged them to engage in candid discussions that will shape the outcomes of MC14.
Ambassador Mr. Geraldo Saranga, the Coordinator of the African Group and the Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva noted that MC14 is taking place at a time when he multilateral trading system is facing challenges from the global dynamics. He further noted that the MTS must be anchored on predictability and rules-based trade. The recent development of tariff hikes undermines the whole essence of predictable multilateral trading system as espoused in the Marrakesh Agreement of the WTO.
Speaking on behalf of the Commission for Africa (ECA), on behalf of Mr. Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Dr. Address by Dr. Melaku Desta, Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) and Acting Director of the Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD) said ” Geopolitical, economic, and institutional shocks are reshaping global trade in ways that directly and indirectly affect the continent. Some major global powers have turned against the multilateral trading system, making a mockery of the cardinal virtues of rules-based trade governance in the process”.
Dr Melaku noted further noted that while the major powers have been busy destroying rules-based Multilateralism in favour of power-based bilateralism and regionalism, Africa has been busy laying the foundations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) based on the same cardinal virtues of fairness, transparency, predictability and non-discrimination. At a time when fragmentation is accelerating worldwide, the AfCFTA embodies the continent’s commitment to rules-based integration and cooperation for collective prosperity. The AfCFTA today stands out as a beacon of hope for Africa.
The AfCFTA is designed to create a large economic space that fosters continental value chains, supports industrialization, facilitates its digital and green transition, enables the Continent to move away from its traditional status as a supplier of raw materials to one that produces, consumes and exports finished goods, and strengthens Africa’s collective bargaining power on the global stage. At MC14, Africa needs to lead the world, based on unity of purpose forged in collective self-interest and commitment to principles of fairness.
The Director General of the World Trade Organisation Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala thanked the African Group for supporting her re-election for the second term at the WTO. She urged Ambassadors to maintain the momentum raised at the recently concluded G20 Leaders' Summit on WTO Reforms. She noted that in 2025, Africa will be the largest market in the world, with a population of 2.5 billion people, mostly middle-income earners. Hence a stable MTS is key for Africa’s structural transformation and development. Dr. Ngozi urged Ambassadors to place S&DT at the heart of the outcomes of MC14, given that Africa has several infant industries that require protection. In the same vein, she urged Ambassadors to give prominence to Agriculture to secure the continent’s food security.
In her keynote address, Mrs Francisca Tatchouop Belobe, the African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Mining said “challenges before us are immense: geopolitical fragmentation, a climate crisis threatening lives and livelihoods, and rising economic inequality. Against this backdrop, the multilateral trading system stands at a critical inflection point. For Africa, MC14 must not be a repeat of past discussion, it must be a pivot toward a trade architecture that centers on development.“
Mrs Fransisca Tatchouop Belobe further noted that MC14 must demand meaningful reductions and tighter disciplines on such supports. We also need to address the persistent problem of tariff peaks and tariff escalation, which penalize African nations when we attempt to add value to raw materials. Beyond agriculture, the structural imbalance in the WTO hampers African economies from integrating meaningfully into global value chains (GVCs). This calls for systemic reform, but reform grounded in equity, not arbitrary differentiation. We also insist on restoring the Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM). A rules-based multilateral trading system only works if those rules are enforceable. The paralysis of the Appellate Body disproportionately harms developing members who rely on the system to defend their rights. Reform must restore a fully functional, two-tier DSM, ensuring predictability, fairness, and equal access.”
The strategic retreat of Ambassadors concluded with firm common position for Africa on five (5) key areas, notably WTO reform, Development including S&DT, Agriculture and food security, E-commerce and moratorium, Least Developed countries, and Observer Status of the African Union in the WTO. Nono urged Ambassadors to remain focused and speak with One Voice in Yaoundé during MC14.
African Union Commission