PHYSICAL 2025

ECOWAS hosts the East African Community (EAC) in Ghana as Peer Learning Culminates in Action to Strengthen Trade Standards and Systems along the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor 

The ECOWAS Commission and TradeMark Africa, with support from the UK Government through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), have convened the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS)/Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Forum in Accra, Ghana, to address quality challenges affecting trade competitiveness along West Africa’s busiest trade route. 

The three-day event, 18 to 20 November 2025, brings together government officials, private sector representatives, and regional institutions from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and the East African Community (EAC) The intended outcome is a Corridor SPS/TBT Action Roadmap (2025–2027) to improve border coordination, harmonise standards, and strengthen quality and SPS systems across the region. Participants will also surface actionable recommendations for implementing AfCFTA’s annexes on reducing and eliminate technical barriers to trade by promoting cooperation, transparency, and harmonization of standards, and on safeguarding human, animal, and plant health by ensuring food safety and preventing the spread of pests and diseases. 

“The Abidjan–Lagos Corridor is the heartbeat of West African trade. Strengthening its standards and SPS systems will make our exports safer, faster to move, and more competitive across Africa and beyond,” said Dr Kalilou SYLLA, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture. “This partnership reflects ECOWAS’s Vision 2050 of a borderless, prosperous region built on trust, standards, and shared prosperity,” added Dr Kalilou SYLLA, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture. This initiative that will also see a framework developed to guide ECOWAS–EAC collaboration on trade standards and SPS systems builds on TradeMark Africa’s proven success in trade facilitation in support of the AfCFTA, including reducing cargo transit times by 16.5% and border crossing times by up to 70% in East Africa. These lessons are now being adapted to West Africa to enhance food safety and competitiveness of regional value chains. 

The forum a major step in creating a seamless, safe, and efficient trade environment across the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor – one that will benefit small businesses, women traders, and youth-led enterprises central to West Africa’s economic future.