Professor Oppong’s Keynote, delivered on 21 June 2023 at the African International Economic Law Network’s 6th Biennial Conference, was both timely and well-placed. It was both an honour and a privilege to be invited to participate in the Roundtable Discussion following the keynote speech. This brief note reprises comments I made on that occasion. In the first response, Professor Okafor aptly reflected on how International Economic Law debate and scholarship tends to coalesce around crises-prompted reforms. I followed, true to the mold, by recounting the contemporary crises which the keynote address and many of the conference thematic tracks discussed. The last three years (2020 – 2023) have seen the world confronted by a staggering health crisis (COVID-19), continuing political strife accompanied by war, inexorably rising levels of poverty and inequality amidst a climate change crisis. These crises cascade into each other, thereby amplifying their negative impact. Therefore, Professor Oppong spoke to the moment and the timeliness of his remarks cannot be overstated. The conference was held in Accra, the locale of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and the site of many pan-African initiatives, which was abuzz (as usual) with innumerable conferences and meetings. This allowed all at the conference to experience the vibrancy and hope that the continent shares and provided fertile soil for Professor Oppong’s remarks.
Cite As: Caroline C. Ncube, Cascading Crises Call for a Concerted and Inclusive Continental Response: Reflections on Richard F. Oppong’s Keynote, Volume 5, AfJIEL, (2025), 46-48.