Bahir Dar, Ethiopia — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Africa – Regional Service Centre for Africa will jointly convene a side event on Trade for Peace, exploring the practical implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a complement to peacebuilding in Africa’s fragile regions.
This side event responds to the economic and social pressures facing fragile and conflict-affected regions, particularly border areas and communities along major trade corridors. Conflict disrupts commerce, narrows opportunity and weakens livelihoods. Where economic prospects are limited, young people may become more vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups and organised crime. Thus, the Side Event will also explore how inclusive regional integration can create stronger incentives for cooperation and stability.
The discussion will emphasise that the AfCFTA is not a peace agreement and cannot replace political settlements, effective security institutions or dedicated peacebuilding processes. Its contribution lies in what it can add alongside them: wider economic opportunity, more predictable rules, deeper cross-border cooperation and peaceful channels for addressing economic grievances; thereby expounding on the profitability of peace.
Africa’s young population, the central role of women in informal trade and the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises make inclusive economic policy a peace and development priority. Participants may consider how lower trade barriers, local value addition and access to regional markets can generate jobs, strengthen enterprises and expand opportunity in fragile and border areas.
The side event will also examine how economic corridors can become corridors of stability. Better border cooperation, transparency and predictable rules can reduce friction, support legitimate commerce and help communities address grievances peacefully. When paired with effective governance and security institutions, these measures may also help limit illicit cross-border flows.
Building on this approach, participants will explore how AfCFTA implementation can align with national and regional peacebuilding strategies, increase investment in border communities and ensure that women, young people and informal traders help shape the policies that affect them. The exchange will bring together continental institutions, regional economic communities, peace and security practitioners, development partners, the private sector, civil society, and advocates for women and youth.
By convening these constituencies, the side event aims to build a shared understanding of how regional integration can complement peacebuilding and resilience, generate practical recommendations for AfCFTA implementation in fragile and conflict-affected settings, and identify clear priorities for border communities, women, young people and MSMEs.
The event will conclude with practical recommendations from panellists for governments, regional organisations and partners. Its purpose is not to present trade as a cure for conflict, but to identify where economic cooperation can strengthen the foundations of peace and help ensure that the benefits of integration reach the people and places that need them most.