Africa must resist external control and strengthen AfCFTA – Akufo-Addo

Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged African countries to guard against becoming a battleground for global power struggles, emphasizing the importance of unity and strategic action to protect the continent’s sovereignty and foster development.

Delivering the keynote address on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at the Strategic Meeting of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s (KAS) African Team and its political partners at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra, he stressed the need for Africans to take charge of their destiny.

The event concluded KAS’s annual gathering, which brought together representatives from across Africa and board members from the Foundation’s headquarters in Berlin, Germany. Before the meeting, Akufo-Addo held discussions with Prof. Norbert Lammert, former Speaker of the German Parliament and current KAS Chairman, along with other senior officials.

Speaking on the theme of global power shifts and their implications for Africa, Akufo-Addo outlined the dangers and opportunities arising from the evolving multi-polar world. He noted that power is now spread across several actors, including the United States, China, Russia, the European Union, India, and the expanded BRICS group, which recently admitted Egypt and Ethiopia.

With competition among these powers intensifying, he cautioned that Africa must not allow itself to be exploited as a pawn in their rivalries.

“African states must resist attempts to turn the continent into a stage for external conflicts, where our sovereignty and development goals are sacrificed for foreign interests,” he said.

He further called on African leaders to build stronger unity, expand partnerships on fairer terms, and accelerate economic integration through frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Akufo-Addo stressed that by strengthening cooperation and focusing on homegrown progress, Africa can turn the shifting global landscape to its advantage rather than become a casualty of it.