Africa’s integration journey has never been linear, yet it has been undeniably resilient. Decade after decade, our continent has shown that cooperation is stronger than fragmentation. Even in the face of global crises, internal conflict and external shocks, African countries, individually and through their Regional Economic Communities, have continued to choose collaboration. Borders have opened, tariffs have been reduced, the movement of people has been eased and regulatory frameworks have been harmonised in ways that would have seemed inconceivable only a generation ago.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a flagship project of Agenda 2063, our blueprint for structural transformation, has now entered a new and promising phase. With 49 countries having ratified the Agreement, implementation is accelerating. Member States are advancing their tariff commitments, deepening progress on services trade, and modernising their regulatory environments. These efforts are reshaping how African people and businesses think about supply chains, markets and emerging investment opportunities.
While weaknesses in infrastructure, logistics and regulatory alignment continue to constrain the full promise of the AfCFTA, these challenges must reinforce, not dampen, our resolve. Africa has the demographic vitality, the entrepreneurial energy and the natural wealth to fully realise the “Africa We Want.” Supporting reforms that unlock these assets is, therefore, essential.
At the heart of this vision is the movement of people. It is people who will design, produce and trade goods across borders. It is people who will service the One African Market, build integrated value chains, transfer knowledge and forge partnerships that create new opportunities. Human mobility is not an accessory to integration, it is its lifeblood.
The 10th edition of the Africa Visa Openness Index reminds us that the pathways to a more integrated continent are neither new nor unknown. Visa-free travel, labour mobility, intra-African trade, knowledge exchange and human capital development remain critical enablers of the continent we are striving to build.
I, therefore, call on all Member States to accelerate the ratification of the AU Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, a bold and visionary continental instrument. It offers a transformative solution to advancing mobility, deepening integration and strengthening our collective economic resilience.
Together, let us commit to making the promise of a dynamic, resilient and people-centred single African market a lived reality, not just an aspiration. Africa’s future depends on it.
H.E. Amb. Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah
Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development
African Union Commission