The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, (WTO) Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has called on West African countries to collaborate in building sub-regional value chains that can attract investment, boost incomes, and reduce market volatility.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala made the call at the West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) held in Abuja, Nigeria.
She said that a united ECOWAS approach, rather than fragmented national efforts, is key to creating competitive and scalable economies.
According to Dr Okonjo-Iweala the region’s potential lies in its digital and green capabilities, supported by a growing population of educated youth, tech startups, and renewable energy sources.
She emphasised the importance of leveraging these strengths to develop manufacturing and processing capacity across sectors.
“If each of our countries works alone, it is unlikely that we will be able to build efficient value chains that attract the investment we need.
”However, if ECOWAS can think in terms of sub-regional value chains, our markets and scale economies become big enough to attract investors. The pharmaceutical industry is one promising sector, and the COVID-19 pandemic experience of being bumped to the back of the queue for vaccines was a reminder of why the continent needs to produce more pharmaceutical products at home. Senegal, with its Institut Pasteur de Dakar, is a potential hub for vaccines,” Dr Okonjo-Iweala said.
She said the sub-continent should also seek to leverage its green comparative advantage by building solar and wind energy to power critical minerals processing in the sub-region.
“Move up the electric value chain, and start making battery components for automobiles,” she said.
The WTO DG said the services and tourism sectors in individual countries should be upscaled across borders, while cost-cutting measures should also be promoted to enhance trade in the region.
“In the services sector, we could have a Jumia and Flotilla wave of Nigeria start to operate across borders in the region, showing the way for others.
“We could also aim to have more support for tourism that is driven by the cultural industries,” Dr Okonjo-Iweala said.
To build regional value chains, we need to tackle the trade barriers, non-tariff frictions and physical, regulatory and digital infrastructure gaps that have historically held back trade in West Africa, and indeed across the continent.
“We need to lower trade costs that remain among the world’s highest, and give full effect to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and ECOWAS-wide integration,” she said.
She said the summit offers an unparalleled platform to address such challenges and find practical ways forward.
“Let us seize this opportunity to come together in common purpose, anchored by a rich cultural heritage, and build a West Africa where our young people find boundless opportunities for a better future,” she said.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also called for full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and ECOWAS-wide cooperation to create a better future for the sub-region.
The Deputy UN Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed on her part said ECOWAS could add nearly 140 billion US dollars to West Africa’s GDP, and lift more than 30 million people out of extreme poverty across Africa.
She said that through bold political will and strong institutions, ECOWAS continues to chart a path towards shared prosperity, advancing economic cooperation, building resilience, and demonstrating the power of collective leadership.
“However, at the same time, we must recognise the serious challenges that threaten progress, which are: political instability, security risks, climate impacts, and rising inequality. These are not isolated issues, they are deeply interconnected, and they demand coordinated African-led responses,” she said.
She explained that the strides made in infrastructure, such as the strategic Dakar-Lagos and Abidjan-Ouagadougou-Niami corridors, are already catalysing the movement of people, goods, and ideas across the West Africa region.
She equally harps on the need to utilise the opportunities inherent in ACFTA to improve trade on the continent and achieve the region’s 2063 agenda.
“And the African Continental Free Trade Area offers a historic opportunity to deepen intra-African trade, expand regional value chains, and unlock public and private finance. These efforts are central to achieving both Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063, our shared roadmaps for people, planet, and prosperity,’’ she said.
She, however, regretted the poor intra-trade relationship in Africa, especially in West Africa, stating that the summit offers opportunities for progressive correction of the anomalies.
“In 2023, foreign direct investment in ECOWAS countries reached US$12 billion, (4:58) and regional exports totalled US$130 billion.
“Yet, intra-ECOWAS trade stands at just 11%. This is a gap that must be closed if our region is to realise its economic ambitions,” Dr Okonjo-Iwealastated.