WTO Ministerial Conference in Cameroon

IDOS actively shaped discussions around #MC14, promoting trade, investment, and sustainable development in Africa.

The WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) took place from 26 to 29 March 2026 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. In the run-up to MC14, IDOS researchers made significant contributions to the WTO reform debate, e.g. in a Current Column; including on one of the conference’s most contested agenda items: the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement, signed by more than two-thirds of WTO members.

On the margins of MC14, IDOS co-organised together with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung a side event on Trade as a Driver of Economic Transformation in Africa, which examined how trade can support economic development in Africa in a context of structural change, including the role of foreign direct investment in enabling both manufacturing and services trade, and how multilateral frameworks, including the WTO Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, can help improve investment climates and support sustainable development objectives. The session brought together leading experts to identify policy priorities for African countries and the WTO to better align trade and investment with economic transformation.