BRIDGES AFRICA – Volume 6, Issue 2, presents an interview with Kalilou Traoré, the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Commissioner for industry and private sector promotion. In his answers to our questions, the commissioner highlights both the vast opportunities and the significant challenges associated with infrastructure development, and presents the various efforts deployed by ECOWAS and its member states in this area.

The interview is complemented by four articles, which look at the infrastructure-tradesustainable development nexus from different angles. While Christian Kingombe explores how transport infrastructure can lay the foundation for the successful achievement of the SDGs on the continent, Niklas Malchow and Anna Waldmann look at the development potential of cross-border infrastructure from a job creation perspective. Yabin Wu and Xiao Lai, for their part, focus on China’s infrastructure development strategy in Africa, and reflect on its potential implications for African economies. Finally, Hans-Peter Egler emphasises the importance of developing sustainable and resilient infrastructure in Africa, while offering specific insights on the role of sustainability standards to meet that objective.