Accra:Ghana has become the first country to sign the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents, joining 25 other nations in a significant agreement aimed at facilitating easier access to trade finance. This development is expected to assist businesses in selling goods while in transit and conducting cross-border trade using digital documents.
According to Ghana Web, the signing ceremony took place in Accra on Monday, October 26, 2026, marking the opening of the agreement, commonly referred to as the Accra Convention, for signature. The treaty sets a common legal framework for negotiable cargo documents covering goods transported by road, rail, air, and sea. The United Nations Treaty Collection confirms that 26 countries signed the Convention on the opening day.
Speaking on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, highlighted that the agreement could tackle longstanding barriers that have hindered businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), from obtaining financing using goods in transit as collateral. She noted that while maritime trade has long benefitted from negotiable shipping documents, similar arrangements have been limited for goods transported by road, rail, and air.
The new framework seeks to close that gap by allowing negotiable cargo documents to represent goods in transit and establish legally recognized rights over them. This could provide businesses greater flexibility to trade goods before they reach their destinations and enhance their ability to secure financing.
The need for improved trade infrastructure is significant for Africa. During the ceremony, estimates indicated that between 80 and 90 percent of the continent's freight is transported by road. Intra-African trade accounted for just 14.4 percent of the continent's total trade in 2024, with Africa's trade finance gap estimated between US$74 billion and US$92 billion that year.
Under the Convention, negotiable cargo documents may be issued in paper or electronic form, with electronic versions receiving the same legal recognition. The rules also aim to protect parties who rely on the documents in good faith, reduce legal uncertainty, and support the movement of goods across different transport systems.
For businesses, potential benefits include fewer documentation-related obstacles, greater opportunities to use goods in transit for financing, and more efficient transactions across international supply chains. The agreement also allows for a single negotiable cargo document to cover an entire journey involving different modes of transport, potentially simplifying trade procedures and customs clearance.
Ofosu-Adjare reaffirmed Ghana's commitment to pursuing ratification of the treaty and reviewing relevant domestic laws to support its implementation. Areas under consideration include transport, the sale of goods, evidence, electronic transactions, and secured lending.
Plans were also announced for a pilot initiative involving the Ghana Shippers' Authority, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, and banks to explore the practical application of negotiable cargo documents within Ghana's trade and logistics sector.
Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), praised Ghana for hosting the ceremony and acknowledged the collaboration between the Ghanaian government and the UNCITRAL Secretariat in preparing for the treaty's opening for signature. She stated that the Convention could reduce legal uncertainty, facilitate trade finance, strengthen supply chains, and support digital trade as African countries deepen economic integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on December 15, 2025, under Resolution 80/162. It was designed to extend the benefits of negotiable cargo documents beyond maritime transport and provide a harmonized legal basis for their use across different transport modes. However, the signing does not mean the treaty is already in force. It will enter into force 180 days after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession. Countries must complete the relevant domestic legal procedures before the framework becomes operational for them.
The 26 signatories include Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, China, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Togo, Tanzania, and Venezuela.
The agreement positions Accra at the center of a new international effort to modernize cargo documentation and make trade finance more accessible. Its eventual impact, however, will depend on ratification, domestic legal reforms, and effective implementation by governments, banks, transport operators, and other industry players.