The intraregional trade in Western Africa remains a 10%challenge, a figure that can no longer be ignored, according to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking at the Economic Summit of Western Africa, Tinubu said: “Regional intra commerce continues in that 10% of a challenge that can no longer ignore. The under trade is not due to a will of will, but a failure of coordination.”
The president pointed out that Western Africa is one of the last major borders of economic growth, but the opportunity for itself does not guarantee transformation.
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“The opportunities, not only the illusions, we must win it through the integration of the vision, the coherence of the policies, the collaboration and the alignment of capital,” he said.
Tinubu requested collective action, infrastructure investment and coordinated policies to boost growth. “We must strengthen our regional value chains together, invest in infrastructure and coordinate our policies,” he said.
The president pointed out that the greatest asset in the region is its youth population, but this demographic promise can quickly become a liability if it does not correspond to investments in education, digital infrastructure, innovation and productive company.
“Our prosperity depends on regional supply chains, energy networks and data frames. We must design them together, or will be collected separately,” he said.
Tinubu cited examples of joint projects that demonstrate what is possible when Western Africa countries work together, such as the Lagos-Abidjan highway and the power pool of Western Africa. “We must move from statements to concrete agreements, from Policy Mark to Practical Implementation,” he said.
The president also emphasized the need for Western Africa to become more competitive and resistant, investing in local processing and regional manufacturing to unlock the mineral wealth of the region. “The era of 'from well to the port' must end. We must turn our mineral wealth into domestic economic value, jobs, technology and manufacturing,” he said.
Tinubu requested processable results of the summit, including a renewed commitment to the ease of doing business, improved interregional trade, improved infrastructure and innovative ideas to boost growth and prosperity.
“Let's build a West Africa that is invertible, competitive and resistant, one that lives with vision, responsibility and unity,” he said.
Speaking before, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, reiterated the growth and development potential of the region.
He said: “We are here today to build on that enabling environment. We are not reinventing the wheel. As an economic community, Western Africa enjoys freedom of movement and a framework to facilitate trade, the electricity of the groups and integrate transport runners,” said Tuggar.
The minister said that the economic trajectory of Western Africa is unsustainable, with only 8.6% of exports of $ 166 billion in the region in 2024 remaining within its borders.
“Imports followed the same pattern, very inclined towards members outside the continent. Machinery and products made from China, India, the United States and the European Union dominate our import flows while we continue exporting and processing raw materials,” he said.
Tuggar asked for more efforts to bring the informal sector to the formal economy, taking advantage of the economies of scale and efficiency to accelerate growth. “Like governments, as states and the region, we need to make more to facilitate that this activity was within the formal sector,” he said.
The minister also emphasized the importance of local processing and investment in the region. “Bring that investment, bring that local processing, let's see our transport, economic infrastructure and other construction blocks for prosperity,” he urged.
Tuggar expressed optimism about the potential of the region, citing its rich natural resources and its youth population. “Western Africa can and should be part of this.
“I read a couple of weeks ago in an American newspaper that China had the monopoly of some of the vital rare minerals for the new industry in which the future will be built. It is not so. We have those same minerals here in Nigeria and throughout the region,” he said..