West African trade ministers have charted a path to regional industrialisation at the fifth joint meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Ministers of Trade and Industry (ECOMOTI-5), held in Ghana. The meeting concluded with the formal adoption of policy recommendations to accelerate industrial productivity in the region.
Key Outcomes of the Summit
The summit established the Regional Trade Facilitation Committee (RTFC) to push regional integration beyond policy into practical, transaction-level outcomes for the 400 million citizens across the ECOWAS region. The meeting was convened as a critical alignment between ECOWAS regional objectives and the broader African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
Ministers responsible for industry, trade, and investment from across the sub-region attended, confronting a global trade environment reshaped by geopolitical unrest and escalating tariff wars.
Nigeria's Role
Nigeria's Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, who represented Nigeria at the summit, described the meeting as particularly strategic. She noted that conditions had changed significantly in the 13 months since Nigeria hosted the previous edition in Abuja. Oduwole emphasised that the ultimate goal of the bloc's economic agenda must translate into tangible improvements in the lives of its people.
She also highlighted the region's energy complementarities, calling for deeper infrastructure connectivity.
Strategic Pillars Addressed
The meeting addressed four strategic pillars critical to the future of West African commerce:
- Harmonising Industrial Standards: Ministers worked towards harmonising industrial standards across member nations through the ECOWAS Standards Harmonisation Model (ECOSHAM), a framework intended to promote seamless cross-border production.
- Combating Non-Tariff Barriers: Attention was given to combating non-tariff barriers, including illegal border checkpoints and administrative and regulatory blockages, that continue to impede the movement of goods for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the region.
- Competition Regulation and Consumer Protection: A common framework for competition regulation and consumer protection was validated at the summit, aimed at shielding regional consumers from unfair trade practices.
- Unified Strategy for AfCFTA Engagement: Participants operationalised a unified regional strategy for AfCFTA engagement, with particular focus on optimising continental market access for West African goods and protecting shared instruments such as the Common External Tariff.
Nigeria's Trade Agenda
Nigeria's trade agenda at the summit centres on protecting and expanding its non-oil export interests. A key instrument highlighted was the Nigeria–East and Southern Africa Air Cargo Corridor, which has reduced trade shipment costs by up to 75 per cent under the AfCFTA framework, thereby directly enhancing Nigeria's competitiveness in continental markets.
Ghana's Contribution
Ghana's delegation, led by Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, championed the aggressive dismantling of non-tariff barriers. Ghana's contribution tied into the country's newly launched 24-hour port operational model at the expanded Tema Port, positioned as a logistics efficiency anchor for the wider West African region.
