Accra: The Alliance of Sahel States, comprising Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, will participate in the 2025 African Prosperity Dialogues, despite their exit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The African Prosperity Network (APN), convener of the Dialogues, disclosed this at a press briefing ahead of this year's event, set for January 30 and February 1, 2025, at the Accra International Conference Centre. The move aims to ensure that no African country is left out in the transformation of the continent, with this year's event focusing on providing solutions to the US$100 billion infrastructure gap to drive intra-Africa trade.
According to Ghana News Agency, Ms Asheley Asenso, the Protocol Lead at APN, responded to questions about the involvement of the Sahel region, confirming registrations from these countries and indicating that they will be sending their representatives. The 2025 dialogues will take place in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat. The APN, a non-governmental organization, convenes the annual African Prosperity Dialogues (APD) to unlock opportunities for Africa's progress by linking actionable policies to bankable projects.
Mr Sidig Faroug El Toum, the Chief Executive Officer of APN, stated that invitations have been extended to the Sahel states, and there is hope for their representation. Approximately 3,000 participants from 46 countries, including Heads of States, business executives, institutional heads, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, ministers, and policymakers, are expected to attend the 2025 ADP.
Mr El Toum emphasized that the dialogues reflect the ownership and drive of AfCFTA's single-market agenda and urged the media to shift Africa's narrative from poverty toward a more prestigious story of the continent. Mr Rui Pedro Afonso Livramento, the Chief of Staff of the AfCFTA Secretariat, highlighted that despite progress on institutional frameworks, infrastructure remains a critical bottleneck to the implementation of the AfCFTA initiative. Inefficient transport and logistics add significant costs to intra-African trade processes, according to Mr Livramento, who indicated the Secretariat's approach to addressing the challenge.
He further mentioned that the AfCFTA Secretariat is championing the establishment of trade aggregators in Ghana, Egypt, Rwanda, Kenya, and South Africa to grow Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) into continental captains.
