The Chairman, ECOWAS Council of Ministers and Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has expressed concern that only 8.6 percent of the $166 billion exported goods in West Africa were traded within the region.
Specifically, the envoy lamented that 91.4 percent of goods were sold to countries outside of West Africa.
Speaking at the opening of the West Africa Economic Summit 2025, Tuggar said this indicated that West Africa’s trade is heavily dependent on other regions.
He said the subregion could benefit from increasing trade among its own countries and develop its own industries.
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He said: “Let us not forget that in 2024, West Africa exported goods valued at over $166 billion.
“Yet only 8.6 percent of that trade remained within our borders.
“Imports follow the same pattern — heavily tilted toward partners outside the continent.
“Machinery and manufactured goods from China, India, the United States, and the European Union dominate our import flows, while we continue to export unprocessed raw materials.
“This trajectory is untenable — and the issue is not just capacity, but orientation.”
Tuggar said the summit provides a platform for government, industry, and stakeholders to meet and make deals, with the goal of delivering tangible results and taking control of West Africa’s economic destiny.
Speaking on the summit’s theme: “Reset the Vision for the Economic Future of the West Africa Region,” he underscored the need for West Africa to take control of its economic destiny, citing examples of the region’s potential, including its rich mineral resources and youthful population.
Tuggar also highlighted the importance of designing regional supply chains, energy networks, and data frameworks together to drive growth and prosperity.
He added: “As an economic community, West Africa enjoys freedom of movement and a framework to facilitate trade, pool electricity and integrate transport corridors.
“Our job today is to build on what we have and to find new ways that add momentum to the search for peace and stability, prosperity and growth.
“We can find some answers to the future in how we understand our past.
“We know what economists call the informal sector finds ways to deliver what the market wants, bypassing borders and regulations when they are too slow and bureaucratic.
“As governments, as states and the region, we need to do more to make it easy to bring that activity within the formal sector, to bring with it the economies of scale and other efficiencies that will accelerate growth and help our entrepreneurs.”
According to Tuggar, the goal is to build on existing frameworks and find new ways to promote peace, stability, prosperity, and growth.
West Africa, he said, has a rich history of trade and innovation, with markets like Salaga, Katsina and Kano States serving as economic engines in the past.
The diplomat said by leveraging technology, processing, and data, West Africa can be part of the global revolution and unlock its potential, particularly in areas like rare minerals vital to new industries.
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