The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Council of Ministers Responsible for Trade concluded its 18th Meeting in Abuja, hosted by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at a defining moment for the continental economic trajectory.
With the Agreement’s legal architecture now substantially in place, the emphasis shifts decisively from negotiating the rules of African trade to making them work.
In a deliberate strategic choice, Ministers placed implementation — and the delivery of measurable outcomes for African businesses and citizens — at the centre of the next phase of their work, as Nigeria took the baton of Chairpersonship of the Council from the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Meeting followed an important milestone reached at the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2026, which adopted a set of Annexes to the Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights and significantly advanced the Phase II agenda.
A limited number of legal instruments remain under negotiation — notably an outstanding Annex to the Investment Protocol and a remaining Annex to the Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights — which State Parties are working to finalise.
