Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana selected an initial list of priority products for a pilot phase of their Mutual Recognition Agreement on inspection certificates and approved an implementation action plan after a three-day bilateral meeting in Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, from 21 to 23 October 2026.
The meeting was organised by the ECOWAS Commission’s Directorate of Private Sector and Industry, with support from TradeMark Africa, and was dedicated to putting the Agreement into practice.
The Mutual Recognition Agreement itself was approved by the Ministers of Trade and Industry on 16 May 2025 in Abuja, Nigeria.
According to a report from the Economic Community of West African States, the two countries examined the practical arrangements for implementing the Agreement, identified priority products and agreed on next operational steps.
Participants also agreed to use ECOWAS harmonised inspection procedures and regional sanitary and phytosanitary inspection procedures as common tools for implementation, and to continue national consultations.
The meeting produced several recommendations: designating competent authorities, establishing a technical management committee, building capacity for inspection bodies, and reactivating the Cross-Border Management Committee.
The Agreement covers inspection certificates and is designed to reduce redundant inspections, compliance costs and delays at borders while maintaining quality standards, product safety and the regulatory prerogatives of states.
ECOWAS states that its implementation should help improve the competitiveness of businesses, support small and medium-sized enterprises and boost trade between the two countries.
The Côte d’Ivoire–Ghana pilot phase is described by ECOWAS as a strategic step towards the gradual implementation of mutual recognition along the Abidjan–Lagos corridor, with a view to extending the achievements to other relevant member states and, ultimately, to the entire ECOWAS region.
On behalf of Hon. Dephue Yenpea Zuo, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Peter Okonkwo Oluonye, Acting Director of the Private Sector and Industry Sector, reaffirmed a commitment, with the support of TradeMark Africa and other relevant partners, to assist member states in the effective implementation of the regional instrument, with a view to fostering a more integrated, competitive and private-sector-friendly regional market.
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