The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has announced a significant regional meeting in Lomé, the capital of Togo, aimed at addressing obstacles to the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and streamlining trade exchanges. Scheduled for May 21 and 22, 2026, this meeting specifically seeks to elevate trade connectivity between North and West African nations.
Organized by UNECA’s African Trade Policy Centre and its subregional offices, this platform will evaluate the successes achieved in the AfCFTA implementation process thus far. Additionally, it is expected to facilitate the exchange of best practices among member states, identify persistent trade bottlenecks, and design accelerated measures to bring the agreement into full operational status.
According to UNECA, the Lomé discussions will focus on key pillars including tariff liberalization to simplify trade by removing customs duties, and customs cooperation to speed up the movement of goods by reducing border bureaucracy.
The meeting will also emphasize aligning national implementation strategies, enhancing private sector participation, and ensuring institutional coordination among various regional and continental bodies.
This critical meeting occurs at a time when global trade flows are facing significant disruptions due to the war in the Middle East. This geopolitical instability has placed immense pressure on global supply chains, and African nations have fallen victim to these effects.
Consequently, another major task for the delegates in Lomé will be finding ways to limit the impact of external pressures on African economies. Strengthening intra-African trade has been identified as the primary resilience mechanism; by trading more extensively with one another, Africans can reduce their vulnerability to price fluctuations and trade interruptions originating from other continents.
For Algeria, this meeting holds great significance for its ongoing efforts to expand its economic footprint across Africa. Algeria is moving forward with ambitious plans to enter the African market through trade, logistics, and infrastructure connectivity. Particularly since launching AfCFTA trade exchanges with a select group of countries in November 2024, the African market has served as a central pillar of the country’s external economic strategy.
This movement aligns with Algeria’s push to strengthen transport and commercial ties across the continent, highlighted by the Trans-Saharan Highway stretching from Algiers to Lagos, Nigeria. This project is viewed as a strategic corridor for creating trade integration between North Africa, the Sahel region, and West Africa.
The world currently finds itself amidst energy supply fluctuations, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical uncertainty. During this challenging period, African institutions are demonstrating their commitment to translating the AfCFTA agreement from paper into practical reality.
The Lomé meeting is expected to be a decisive step toward protecting the African economy from external shocks and ensuring sustainable growth by boosting continental trade.
