At visit to IRIC: WTO boss drums trade-driven growth, self-reliance.

This was while delivering a lecture at a conference at the International Relations Institute of Cameroon, IRIC. 

The WTO official was accompanied to IRIC by several members of government. She was received upon arrival by the Director of IRIC, Prof Daniel Urbain Ndongo, as well as top officials of the institution, students, diplomats, and high-level officials.

She visited IRIC on the sidelines of an official working visit to assess Cameroon's preparedness to host the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference billed for March 2026.

Speaking during the conference Dr Okonjo-Iweala addressed Africa’s place in the multilateral trading system, stressing that while global headwinds persist from protectionism to declining aid, African countries have the agency to reshape their destinies through regional integration, domestic investment, and trade-led growth.

“We are no longer going to have those who are willing to lend to us, to give us credit. And we have to find out, for your young people, how we are going to depend more on our own resources,” she declared.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala added that: “Africa needs to draw more on our own resources and the potential to drive growth and create better jobs for our young people across the continent”. 

The Nigerian WTO boss warned of growing instability in the global trading system due to rising protectionism and tariff wars particularly between the US and China, which she said, have had ripple effects worldwide. 

She said the WTO projected a 0.2% contraction in global merchandise trade in 2025, down nearly 3% from earlier expectations. She said while temporary tariff reductions have slightly improved the outlook, Africa’s marginal role in global trade leaves it vulnerable.

“Africa’s share in global trade has actually declined over the past decade, from 3.2% of merchandise exports in 2013 to 2.6% in 2023,” she lamented.

The diplomat stressed that this was not a cause for celebration but a symptom of the continent’s limited integration into the global economy.

One of the core themes of Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s address was the urgent need for intra-African trade. She said despite the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, only about 15-20% of African trade is conducted within the continent, compared to 60% in Europe.

“It’s no wonder that only about 15-20% of African countries' trade is with each other…better regional integration will help us grab a larger share of external trade,” she said, highlighting the need for economic scale through regional blocs like ECOWAS and CEMAC. 

Dr Okonjo-Iweala also spotlighted the WTO's Plurilateral Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development, of which Cameroon is a signatory, as a critical tool for enhancing investor confidence.

“It’s not a magic wand, but it’s one tool that we can have in the toolbox. And I hope that we can finalize it here in Cameroon at MC14. It will be a very good memory for all of us,” she urged. 

Dwindling aid, rising debt

The WTO boss presented a sobering picture of foreign aid, noting that traditional donor assistance is declining sharply. 

She drew allusion to a recent survey data which showed a 7% drop in aid from developed countries in 2024, with Sub-Saharan Africa receiving only 21 trillion FCFA, a 2% decrease from the previous year.

“Overseas development assistance, as we knew it, is over,” she stated, adding that “several donors have announced cuts, including the United States”

These reductions, the official said, are exacerbating Africa’s growing debt burden. The official furthered that though Cameroon’s debt-to-GDP ratio is forecasted to fall from 47.2% to 41.3% this year and potentially 33% by 2029 the IMF still considers the country at high risk of debt distress.

“We cannot afford to keep going through cycles of taking on too much debt and then being choked by it. We just cannot,” she warned. “We have to manage our debt issues. Let's have good macroeconomic frameworks in our countries. Let’s remove the domestic obstacles to help,” she said.

Despite the grim assessments, Dr Okonjo-Iweala concluded her lecture on a hopeful note, praising the energy and creativity of Africa’s youth and entrepreneurs.

“One of the things that pleases me is when I interact with young African people like yourselves and see just how creative and entrepreneurial they are,” she said. 

“We can complain, but we have a lot of agencies to do things differently and get our economies going. Let’s go get it done!,” she stated. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3459 of Friday May 30, 2025