Tsotetsi Makong

Tsotetsi is a Trade Facilitation Expert at the Trade Policy Training Centre in Africa. Previously, he served as Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Lesotho in Geneva and as Chair of the Committees of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Trade‑Related Investment Measures and on Import Licensing. He was also Coordinator and Chief Negotiator of the Group of Seventy‑Seven and China in the Geneva Chapter, as well as Expert‑Level Coordinator and Chief Negotiator of the African Group on matters related to the WTO. In addition, he served as Lead Negotiator for the Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States on issues related to trade and the environment, and as Lead Negotiator for the Least Developed Countries on non‑agricultural market access.

He acted as Expert Negotiator for the Group of Least Developed Countries on negotiations related to flexibilities under the Agreement on Trade‑Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and on the services waiver for Least Developed Countries. He was also the Chief Negotiator for the African Group on WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement. He lectures in the Master of Science in International Trade Policy and Law at the Trade Policy Training Centre in Africa. His expertise spans intellectual property and competition law, international trade negotiations, trade facilitation, regional integration, and international economic law.

He contributed to the drafting and legal review of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. He is currently part of the roster of arbitrators for the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Southern African Development Community and the European Union, and is committed to advancing the structural transformation agenda of the African Union. He is the author of numerous publications on trade and development and actively promotes the African Continental Free Trade Area alongside Mokom Marcel Young.