United Nations Accra Convention signed by 26 states

Twenty-six states signed the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents, known as the Accra Convention, in Accra, Ghana, on October 26. The agreement provides a harmonized, technology-neutral legal framework for negotiable cargo documents in both paper and electronic forms.

Unlike previous frameworks primarily tied to maritime trade, this convention covers goods moving via road, rail, sea, and air. This multimodal approach allows rights over goods to be transferred before delivery, enabling traders to use shipment documents as collateral for financing. This mechanism is expected to support trade finance, particularly for emerging and landlocked economies and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The signatories include 18 African nations—such as Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, and Burkina Faso—as well as China, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. While the convention has been signed, it must still undergo ratification processes in the respective countries before it enters into force.