The countries on the African continent need to triple their share from the existing 3% of world trade within the next decade, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th May, 2023) The countries on the African continent need to triple their share from the existing 3% of world trade within the next decade, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on Friday.
"Africa has less than 3% of world trade, so we need to triple that within the next decade," Okonjo-Iweala said during a presentation of the International Monetary Fund's report on the economy of Africa.
The goal of significantly increasing trade represents a big challenge for the continent, but the African countries are capable of achieving it, she said.
Okonjo-Iweala also pointed out to the great opportunities for Africa in the area of digital trade.
"It is now worth about $4 trillion, but Africa's share of that is less than 1%. This is where the opportunity is," she said.
Okonjo-Iweala urged countries from the rest of the world to develop free trade relations with Africa given that that is one of the most important things the continent is doing.
At the same time, the WTO chief called on African countries to stop just exporting raw materials and begin to add value to their products while also improving trade relations among themselves.
