African Leaders Press for Faster Economic Integration as Trade Barriers Persist
Updated: Oct 5
EL ALAMEIN, Egypt — African leaders called for faster implementation of the continent’s economic integration agenda on Sunday, pressing governments to remove barriers to intra-African trade and invest more heavily in manufacturing, transport and cross-border infrastructure as they acknowledged that political commitments have moved faster than the systems needed to create a functioning continental market.
Meeting in the Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein for the African Union’s Eighth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, heads of state and senior officials put implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, or AfCFTA, near the center of discussions, alongside regional security, infrastructure financing, industrialization and the persistent difficulty of coordinating policy among national governments, regional economic blocs and the African Union.
The meeting came as intra-African trade has begun to strengthen but remains a relatively modest share of the continent’s overall commerce. Intra-African trade rose 12.4 percent in 2024 to $220.3 billion, according to the African Export-Import Bank, while Africa’s total merchandise trade reached about $1.5 trillion.
The figures point both to progress and to the considerable distance between the continent’s current trading patterns and the integrated market envisioned under the AfCFTA.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairman of the African Union Commission, said the emphasis now had to shift from adopting continental frameworks to carrying them out.
“Africa’s integration agenda must move decisively from aspiration to implementation,” Youssouf told the meeting.
That implementation gap dominated the discussions in El Alamein. Leaders identified inadequate transport links, financing constraints, cumbersome trade procedures, fragmented payment systems, limited industrial capacity and continuing conflicts among the obstacles preventing African businesses from taking full advantage of the continental market.
The AfCFTA is intended to connect economies across 55 African countries and create a market encompassing more than 1.3 billion people. But reducing tariffs is only one part of that undertaking. Companies trading across African borders continue to contend with different regulatory systems, customs procedures, currencies and transport networks, while manufacturers in many countries face high electricity and logistics costs.
Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, the current chairman of the African Union, told leaders that Africa would need to increase its productive capacity if freer trade was to deliver the economic transformation governments have promised. He pointed to inadequate infrastructure, insufficient financing, insecurity and disputes over shared resources as continuing constraints and called for greater investment in manufacturing and technology.
The final declaration adopted by the leaders called for the removal of unnecessary non-tariff barriers, improvements in trade facilitation and cross-border payment systems, and stronger regional value chains. Governments also encouraged African companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises, to expand investment in production and value addition.
The discussion reflected a broader concern among African governments that the continent remains heavily dependent on exporting raw materials while importing higher-value manufactured and processed goods. That pattern has become more consequential as global competition intensifies for African critical minerals needed for batteries, electric vehicles, renewable-energy systems and other technologies.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who hosted the meeting, argued that African countries should process more of their resources domestically, expand manufacturing and develop regional production chains capable of keeping a greater share of the economic value generated by African commodities on the continent.
El-Sisi also linked Africa’s economic ambitions to its increasingly difficult security environment, warning that disputes between states could undermine integration and investment. He called for respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and urged governments to resolve disagreements through dialogue and international law, including disputes involving borders and shared natural resources.
The reference carried particular significance in Egypt, which has been engaged for years in a dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Cairo considers the Nile an essential national water-security issue, while Ethiopia regards the dam as central to its development and electricity-generation ambitions.
The meeting also took place against continuing conflicts elsewhere on the continent, including the war in neighboring Sudan. On the sidelines of the summit, El-Sisi met Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and reiterated Egypt’s support for Sudan’s unity and territorial integrity.
Those conflicts have increasingly become economic as well as security concerns for the African Union. War can close trading routes, damage infrastructure, displace workers and discourage the long-term investment required for regional transport and industrial projects.
The leaders consequently called for closer coordination between the African Union and regional security mechanisms, including greater use of preventive diplomacy and early-warning systems to address disputes before they develop into wider crises.
Infrastructure presented another significant obstacle.
The declaration called for increased investment in cross-border roads, railways, ports, energy networks and digital connections, as well as faster implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market, an initiative intended to liberalize aviation and improve direct connections between African countries.
The infrastructure problem goes to the heart of the AfCFTA. Preferential tariffs offer limited commercial benefit when high transport costs make a product uncompetitive or when border delays prevent manufacturers from operating predictable regional supply chains.
The Mid-Year Coordination Meeting was created partly to address that problem. Africa’s regional blocs have developed their own trade arrangements, customs policies and political institutions at different speeds, while the African Union has pursued continental initiatives such as the AfCFTA.
Leaders in El Alamein reviewed the division of responsibilities among those institutions and asked the African Union Commission to finalize guidelines intended to clarify which bodies should lead particular areas of continental policy.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa participated in his capacity as chairman of the Southern African Development Community, while El-Sisi held bilateral meetings with several leaders, including Ramaphosa and Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.
The AfCFTA has given that ambition its most extensive commercial framework yet, but the discussions in El Alamein underscored how much remains outside the agreement itself. Governments still have to align regulations, customs authorities have to make borders more efficient, infrastructure projects have to be financed, and businesses need reliable power, transport and payment systems before a continental market can operate at its potential.
Closing the meeting, El-Sisi said the discussions demonstrated “steady progress toward continental integration and cohesion” and improved coordination between the African Union and regional organizations.
The economic figures offer some support for that assessment. Trade among African countries is increasing, new payment infrastructure is being developed, and more governments are implementing parts of the continental trade agreement.
For investors, this suggests opportunities in logistics, processing, manufacturing and services that support cross-border commerce. These are potential implications of the integration agenda, rather than investment deals announced at the meeting. Individual opportunities still depend on national regulation, infrastructure and commercial demand.
Leaders adopted a declaration and asked the AU Commission to finalise guidelines dividing responsibilities among institutions, with progress due at the ninth coordination meeting.
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