Memorial Lecture in Honour of Ambassador Chiedu Osakwe (1955-2019)
On 22 September 2021, the WTO will launch a public lecture series in memory of Ambassador Chiedu Osakwe who passed away two years ago. His passion and his work, including his writing, focused on strengthening the multilateral trading system and making trade work for the African continent. Linking and bridging the gap between Africa and the WTO was a life-long mission of Ambassador Osakwe. He was one of the first senior African Directors in the WTO Secretariat where he served between 1998 and 2016 and then was appointed as Nigeria's first Chief Trade Negotiator to the AfCFTA where he served as the Chairman of the Negotiating Forum until June 2018. Under his chairmanship, AU Member States successfully concluded negotiations which led to the signing of the Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA in March 2018, with 44 out of 55 countries.
On 1 January 2021, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa officially started trading under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), marking an historic achievement in the continent's integration efforts. At the same time, the African continent represents 27% of the WTO membership with 44 out of 164 Members, together with 9 observers in the process of joining the Organization.
For the maiden edition of the lecture series, we are honoured to have His Excellency Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, to deliver the keynote address. His Excellency Wamkele Mene was a close friend of Ambassador Osakwe, and they were part of the team that worked together to conclude the first round of negotiations establishing the AfCFTA. This lecture is being held exactly two years after Ambassador Osakwe's passing to remember his lasting legacy for the future of trade policy on the African continent, and more specifically, on the relationship between the AfCFTA and the WTO in shaping the future of the multilateral trading system.
