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By: Edward Graham Sebbie
The eyes of the global trade will turn to Accra On October 26, 2026, as the country hosts the opening-for-signature ceremony of the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents, a historic treaty now officially named the “Accra Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents” in honour of the host city.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this on October 6 during a briefing for the Diplomatic Corps in Accra, describing it as a moment of considerable national pride and recognition of Ghana’s role in international trade law.
Adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 15, 2025, through Resolution 80/162, the Convention is the first global legal framework that makes a truck, train or plane document as powerful as a maritime bill of lading.
For many centuries, only goods transported by sea have had a universally accepted negotiable document (the bill of lading ) that allows a trader to sell the goods while they are still on the ocean, or use that document to get money from a bank. Goods moved by road, rail and air which dominate intra-African trade have never had that fair opportunity but that gap is now being closed.
The Accra Convention seeks to: create uniform rules for negotiable cargo documents for all modes (road, rail, air and sea), legally recognize electronic versions of those documents, allow goods to be sold in transit, financed and used as collateral while still moving, support multimodal transport where one container moves from truck to train to ship under one legal cover, and boost digitalisation of trade and reduce fraud and paperwork delays.
China first proposed work on the text which was developed by UNCITRAL in 2019, assigned to Working Group VI in 2022, negotiated over six sessions, and finalised in July 2025.
In authorising Accra as venue, the UN General Assembly recommended the name “Accra Convention” as appreciation for Ghana’s offer and contribution to the development of international trade law, multilateralism and harmonisation of trade rules.
The treaty, according to the ministry is especially timely for Africa as AfCFTA identifies paperwork, lack of finance for traders, and no trusted documents for land transport as the biggest trade barriers in its quest to boost intra-African trade from 15% to over 50%.
With this Convention, a shea butter exporter in Tamale can ship by road to Lagos, hand a negotiable electronic cargo document to a Ghanaian bank, get immediate trade finance, and the buyer in Nigeria can resell the goods while the truck is still on the road.
Trade Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare has confirmed Ghana will sign and ratify immediately with October 7, 3026 fixed for virtual sensitisation programme for ECOWAS states, saying Ghana will champion ECOWAS adoption. “Ghana is committed to signing and ratifying the Convention to help transform trade finance, cross-border commerce and digital cargo documentation,” she noted.
She urged member states to assess the Convention against their national laws and come to Accra with a mandate.
UNCITRAL Secretary, Anna Joubin-Bret and ECOWAS Trade Director Kolawole Sofola have also backed the treaty.
If widely ratified, the Accra Convention could do for African road freight what the bill of lading did for maritime trade 500 years ago by turning the cargo itself into cash.
Dozens of governments, the AfCFTA Secretariat, UNCITRAL, and international banks are expected in Accra on October 26.
