Okonjo-Iweala: It costs Africans 20% more to trade within Africa than with other continents

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), says it costs Africans about 20 percent more to trade within Africa than with other regions of the world.

In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, posted on Tuesday, Okonjo-Iweala said while the continent has a lot of resources, it must address structural challenges that continue to limit growth and trade integration.

She described the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as “one of the best things” for boosting intra-African trade but stressed that its implementation needs to be accelerated.

“We have the African continental free trade area, which is I think one of the best things we have going on trade but we’ve got to accelerate the workings of the organisation. Because we are trading with ourselves,” the DG said.

“Only 15 to 20 percent of our trade is among ourselves now. Compare that to the E.U. where more than 60 percent of trade. So we have a long way to go.

“I was asking, why don’t we buy this $200 million worth of textiles within the continent? If we spend $7 billion to import some of the same kinds of textiles, why does Lesotho have to struggle?

“It costs 20 percent more for us to trade with each other on the continent than with others externally. Something is wrong with that.”

She said reducing the costs would allow African countries to take full advantage of their trade and resource potential.

‘AFRICA MUST INVEST IN SKILL, TECHNOLOGY’

The WTO chief noted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects Africa’s economy to grow by about 4 percent this year and next but added that the continent should aim higher given its growing population.

“By 2050, there will be 2.5 billion people in the continent. It will have 22 percent of the working age population of the world. If this population is skilled, it could really be a resource for the continent and for the whole world,” she said.

Okonjo-Iweala emphasised the need for investments in education, technology and infrastructure to unlock the continent’s growth potential.

“You can’t just say we have people, therefore we are rich. They’ve got to be skilled. We’ve got to be up with the technology and the A.I,” she said.

The DG added that while Africa holds 30 percent of the world’s mineral resources and 67 percent of its arable land, challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, unreliable power supply, and poor connectivity continue to constrain development.

Despite the challenges, the WTO boss expressed excitement about the continent’s future, inspired by the innovation and creativity of its young people.

Okonjo-Iweala noted that African youth are driving progress in fintech, agritech, health tech, and the creative industries, demonstrating the continent’s potential.