Yaoundé, 30 July 2026 (ECA) – In Central Africa, commitments under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) have yet to translate into commercial reality at scale. To date, Cameroon remains the only country in the subregion to have traded under the AfCFTA's preferential terms through the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), a gap that underscores the urgency of accelerating institutional and operational readiness across the subregion, so that more businesses can access the continental single market.
To address this challenge, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) through its Sub-Regional Office for Central Africa, the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) and the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) will convene representatives of National AfCFTA Implementing Committees from the subregion's eight countries, regional economic communities, private sector and key institutional partners in Yaoundé from 4 to 7 August 2026. Held under the theme “Accelerating AfCFTA Operationalization in Central Africa: Strengthening the Technical Capacity of National Implementation Committees,” the seminar aims to enhance the effectiveness of these committees, the essential mechanisms tasked with translating the Agreement into practice through reforms, services to economic operators, and concrete trade-facilitating action. The seminar is organized in partnership with the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and in consultation with the AfCFTA Secretariat.
The challenge is systemic. Making full use of AfCFTA preferences requires several levers to move in tandem: tariff offers, rules of origin, customs procedures, the removal of non-tariff barriers, quality infrastructure, trade in services and digital trade, border management, logistics, financing, operator outreach, and reform monitoring. Within this architecture, National Committees play a central role, coordinating the implementation of national strategies by mobilizing government administrations, technical bodies and the private sector. Their work spans tariff dismantling, the monitoring and resolution of notified barriers, the issuance of certificates of origin, and other forms of business support such as trade partnerships in export markets. Yet the existence, operational maturity, technical capacity and monitoring mechanisms of National Committees vary considerably from one country to the next.
“Low uptake of AfCFTA preferences in Central Africa does not reflect a lack of ambition, but rather an implementation chain that remains incomplete. When tariff offers, rules of origin and specific commitments, customs procedures, standards, and business information are not coordinated, the Agreement stays out of reach for economic operators. Yet in several countries, National Committees are non-existent, barely functional, or inadequately resourced. Making them fully operational is essential to turning continental decisions into concrete trade opportunities,” said Jean Luc Mastaki, Director of the ECA Sub-Regional Office for Central Africa.
The seminar aims to offer a concrete response to these challenges. Over four days, participants will take stock of national implementation progress, exchange experience, and strengthen their institutional and technical capacities. Discussions will cover committee governance, trade in goods and services, digital trade, the inclusion of women, youth and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), private sector engagement, standards and quality infrastructure, trade intelligence, value chain development, and monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanisms.
“Experience from East, West and Southern Africa shows that AfCFTA implementation advances when regulatory reform, logistics corridors, trade information and private sector mobilization move forward together. Central Africa, for its part, holds major assets: a strategic geographic position, diversified resources, and strong potential for cross-border value chains. Turning that potential into effective trade will require high-performing National Committees, smoother corridors, harmonized procedures, and support for businesses that carries through to the actual trade transaction,” explained Melaku Desta, Acting Director of ECA's Regional Integration and Trade Division.
The seminar is expected to deliver a sharper regional diagnostic of progress made and challenges that remain, generate directly actionable recommendations, define an operational framework for National Implementation Committees, and lay the groundwork for a community of practice built on peer learning. It should also help strengthen coordination, monitoring and reporting among Member States, regional and continental organizations, and development partners.
This gathering builds on ECA's sustained support to AfCFTA implementation in Central Africa. It marks a further step in a continuum that has run from early awareness-raising and support for national strategy development to the practical tools, regional dialogue and capacity-building now underway.
Media Queries
Zacharie Roger MBARGA - Communications Officer
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
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E-mail: zacharie.mbargayene@un.org
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