Ghana’s Minister of Trade, the Honourable Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, emerged as one of the standout voices at the African Trade Conference 2026, held in Cape Town, where she used the platform to push for pragmatic, country-led solutions to the continent’s long-standing trade integration challenges.
Speaking at the High-Level Ministerial Panel on accelerating continental trade, Ofosu-Adjare made a pointed case for a flexible approach to policy harmonization — one that does not wait for consensus across all 54 African Union member states before progress is made.
“Progress does not require all 54 countries to move at once. A few can take the lead and others will follow.”
Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Ghana’s Minister of Trade
On the sidelines of the conference, the Minister short held bilateral discussions with her counterpart from Zambia, exploring concrete steps to reduce non-tariff barriers, harmonize standards, and align regulatory frameworks across borders.
Central to the discussions was how to meaningfully boost intra-African trade volumes — a metric that remains stubbornly low at roughly 15% of total African exports compared to over 60% in Europe. Ministers agreed that the path forward lies in reducing duplication of trade documentation, investing in cross-border digital infrastructure, and building the political will to implement AfCFTA commitments already on paper.
