SALT University College (SUC) has announced the inaugural edition of the African Diplomacy and Business Dialogue (AfDiB 2025), scheduled to take place on 3rd September, 2025 at the premises of the Association of African Universities (AAU) in Accra.

The high-profile event will be held under the theme: “Harnessing African Diplomacy for the Success of AfCFTA”, and is aimed at fostering meaningful dialogue and strategic initiatives to support the realisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) vision.

According to SUC, the maiden edition of AfDiB is designed to bring together key stakeholders from government agencies, diplomatic missions, trade organisations, academic institutions, private businesses, and civil society.

The goal is to encourage networking, partnerships, and collaborative solutions that can drive intra-African trade and sustainable development.

The event will feature a keynote address by Professor Lord Mawuko Yevugah, Associate Professor of Political Economy and International Relations at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

A panel discussion will also be held, featuring notable speakers such as Dr Emmanuel Dei-Tumi, Executive Director of the Africa Future Leaders Institute of Global Affairs (AFLIGA), and Ms Helen Appiah Ampofo, Broadcast Journalist with TV3.

AfCFTA, the landmark trade agreement adopted in March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, officially came into force on 30th May 2019.

As of February 2025, 54 of the 55 African Union Member States had signed the agreement, with 48 having ratified it. Once fully operational, AfCFTA is expected to create a single African market of 1.4 billion people, with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.

Trade analysts project that the removal of tariffs on 90% of goods, along with the reduction of non-tariff barriers, will increase intra-African trade by over 50% in the coming years.

The agreement also aims to shift the continent’s economic structure from raw material exports to value-added production, spurring growth across sectors such as technology, agriculture, finance, tourism, and manufacturing.

As the host institution, SALT University College brings a rich background in leadership and policy education. Established in 2003 and accredited in 2018 by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, SUC is affiliated with both GIMPA and the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

It currently serves a diverse student population from across the continent, including learners from Angola, Congo (Brazzaville), Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Benin, South Africa, and Togo.