The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has issued a strong call to action for West African leaders to eliminate trade barriers and embrace regional economic integration, which she says holds the key to unlocking a $500 billion economic potential.
Speaking at the West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) on Saturday, held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, Okonjo-Iweala urged regional governments to prioritise value chain development, innovation, and local manufacturing to spur growth.
“At this pivotal moment for our region, you have come together to unlock trade and investment opportunities to drive growth and job creation for West Africa’s nearly 460 million people — half of them under the age of 18,” she said.
Describing the region as resource-rich, with abundant lcritical minerals, energy resources, and a vibrant creative sector, the WTO chief noted that West Africa has the right ingredients to become a competitive economic bloc — but only if countries act collectively.
“If each of our countries works alone, it is unlikely that we will be able to build efficient value chains or attract the investment we need,” she warned. “However, if ECOWAS can think in terms of subregional value chains and markets, our economies become bigger and more attractive to investors.”
Highlighting examples of progress, she pointed to Côte d’Ivoire’s new commodities exchange and the Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal, which is being developed into a hub for vaccine production. She also referenced Nigeria’s pharmaceutical potential and digital innovation, with companies like Jumia and Flutterwave operating across borders.
Okonjo-Iweala stressed the need for countries to leverage solar and wind energy to process minerals locally, move up the electric value chain, and invest in automobile manufacturing.
However, she cautioned that progress cannot be achieved without tackling persistent tariff and non-tariff barriers, as well as closing regulatory and infrastructure gaps.
“To build regional value chains, we need to address tariff and non-tariff frictions, and close the physical, regulatory, and digital infrastructure gaps that have historically held back trade in West Africa. Trade costs here remain among the highest in the world,” she stated.
She called on leaders to fully implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and deepen ECOWAS-wide collaboration, urging that the summit be used as a platform to fast-track solutions.
President Bola Tinubu, in his opening remarks as ECOWAS Chairman, also echoed the call for regional unity. He advocated an end to “pit-to-port” dependency— the export of raw, unprocessed materials — and challenged the region to invest in value addition.
“The era of warm pit to the port must end. We must turn our mineral wealth into domestic economic value, jobs, technology, and manufacturing,” Tinubu said.
The summit welcomed participation from presidents of Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, The Gambia, Benin, Togo, and Guinea-Bissau, as well as ministers, private sector leaders, and regional economic institutions.
It is expected to feed directly into policy deliberations at the 67th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS, scheduled for Sunday, with regional integration seen as essential to long-term peace, economic stability, and youth empowerment across West Africa.
