Francophone countries reflected strategically on their trade priorities at the meeting.
Yaoundé (Cameroon): Representatives from the Francophone countries met for a regional consultation here between April 28 and 30, 2025, to define their trade priorities one year ahead of the 14th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC14), which is also scheduled to be held in Yaoundé in March 2026.
The French-speaking African and Indian Ocean WTO Members reflected strategically on their trade priorities during the meeting. “MC14 must serve as a launch pad for a better future,” said Cameroon’s Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, host of MC14, during the opening ceremony.
Organized jointly by the WTO Secretariat and the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) at the request of represented Francophone countries, this consultation titled “On the Road to the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference” aimed to generate ideas to enable countries within the Francophone multilateral system to maximize their participation in the WTO and play a larger role in global trade.
Atangana highlighted the numerous challenges facing the Francophone region in recent years, from health crises that have disrupted supply chains to security crises, food insecurity, and trade tensions. He recalled that the goal of trade multilateralism from its inception has been to promote state development through trade. In this regard, the policy space for African governments to foster development must be decisive, he emphasized.
To ensure that the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference can “serve as a launching pad for a better future,” he continued, it will be essential to steer negotiations toward agriculture, food security, investment facilitation for development, e-commerce, fisheries subsidies, the interplay between trade and environment, WTO reform, and development issues in general.
During the closing session, participants underscored the importance of global trade for their economies and the urgency for Francophone countries to increase their participation in it to drive economic growth, employment, and improvements in prosperity and well-being. They committed to seizing the opportunity of a Ministerial Conference being held in Africa to prioritise the economic and commercial development of Francophone economies.
The WTO Secretariat also presented to the participating government representatives the latest “World Trade Outlook and Statistics” and an update on the current ratifications of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
This consultation was part of the strengthened cooperation between the WTO and OIF, marked in 2023 by the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding. The objective was to enhance the participation of Francophone countries in the global trading system, particularly developing economies. The support focused on strengthening trade capacities, promoting trade, and development activities in Francophone countries, especially in Africa and the least developed countries.
– global bihari bureau
