Nigeria, Nov. 5 -- World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has called for swift reforms to reduce the high cost of trade within Africa, revealing that it currently costs about 20 per cent more for African nations to trade with one another than with countries outside the continent.

Speaking in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said such inefficiencies undermine the purpose of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which was created to promote commerce and industrial integration across the region.

"It costs 20 per cent more for us to trade with each other on the continent than with others externally. Something is wrong with that. We need to bring our average ...