Following the global economic crisis, African trade recovered, mainly spurred by growing demand from emerging markets. Services trade also increased, underscoring Africa’s increasing potential and prospects in different services subsectors.

The Doha Development Round (DDR) and the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) negotiations again saw little progress in 2010. A positive outcome will depend on the compromises parties are willing to make, which balance policy space, developmental goals and deeper market access concerns. Given the stalemate in these negotiations, trade preference agreements such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and South‑South Co-operation with partners such as China have gained attention in the African development and diversification agenda.

The regional integration process on the continent has advanced thanks to important initiatives, such as the development of Minimum Integration Programmes (MIPs) and the rationalisation of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Some RECs have already launched their free trade areas, while others are steadily working towards this objective.

Despite these positive developments, most RECs continue to face challenges. These include political instability, poor economic diversification, multiple and overlapping memberships, insufficient financial resources to support their integration processes, and poor implementation of commonly agreed protocols and decisions.

Africa’s economic growth and sustainable development greatly depend on regional infrastructure development. Nonetheless, implementing a coherent programme of activities covering energy, transport and communications remains one of the continent’s main shortcomings and undermines Africa’s competitiveness. To overcome these shortcomings and buttress regional competitiveness, continental infrastructure development must target low-quality, outdated and insufficient infrastructure. Greater regional efforts should address Africa’s infrastructure deficit, particularly in the transport sector.