Ghanaian Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has urged African leaders to take steps to accelerate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agenda to make its impact benefit current and future generations.
Opoku-Agyemang made this call during the 2025 Africa Prosperity Dialogue (APD), an annual conference seeking to collate ideas on how to use continental free trade to achieve economic integration and prosperity, which opened in the Ghanaian capital of Accra on Thursday.
The vice president said working closer to accelerate the continental free trade agenda would also speed up the economic and political integration of the continent.
“Integration is not just a theoretical concept. It is a lifeline to our collective future. By breaking down barriers and creating a single market, we can unlock immense opportunities, create jobs for our youth, and lift millions out of poverty,” she said.
To expedite the single market agenda, the vice president urged that Africa “must invest collectively in building robust digital infrastructure.”
She said the single market presents a transformative opportunity for Africa’s economic growth, driven by innovation and entrepreneurship, while connecting people and markets.
The Ghanaian vice president added, “I call on all of us as leaders to embrace, champion, and expand the initiative because the success of the single market depends on our collective will and decisive action.”
She added that the theme, “Delivering Africa’s Single Market through Infrastructure: Invest, Connect, and Integrate,” is a call to action for all Africans to reset and accelerate Africa’s journey towards integration and shared prosperity.
“As we engage in today’s sessions, I encourage all of us to collaborate, to exchange ideas, and to push Africa closer to a fully integrated market,” she urged.
The dialogue, an annual event that started three years ago, is organized by the Africa Prosperity Network (APN), a continent-wide think tank and the secretariat of the AfCFTA.
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the chairperson of the APN Advisory Council, urged African leaders to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps toward realizing the continent’s long-held aspirations for prosperity and unity.
“Today, we focus on the principles of transformation as we deliberate on shaping the future of our continent,” Zuma said in her opening remarks.
At least seven African heads of state and about 4,000 participants are expected to attend in person or follow proceedings on virtual platforms.
Established in March 2018 with its secretariat in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, AfCFTA is a flagship program of the African Union to enable the free flow of goods and services across Africa and boost the trading position of Africa in the global market.
As part of its mandate, the AfCFTA is to eliminate trade barriers and boost intra-African trade. Trading officially commenced under the initiative on Jan. 1, 2021.