• FIATA has welcomed the signing of the  the Accra Convention, the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents it has said marks a step towards a more connected, multimodal and digitally enabled global trading system.
• The Accra Convention establishes, for the first time, a harmonised and technology-neutral legal framework for negotiable cargo documents across all modes of transport, in both paper and electronic form.
• It can facilitate more flexible end-to-end transport, greater legal certainty and access to trade finance, creating new opportunities for businesses, including MSMEs.

FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations, today welcomed the opening for signature of the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents, the “Accra Convention”, which it has said marks a landmark step towards a more connected, multimodal and digitally enabled global trading system.

The Accra Convention establishes, for the first time, a harmonised and technology-neutral legal framework for negotiable cargo documents across all modes of transport, in both paper and electronic form.

Crucially, the Convention responds to real market needs and existing commercial practice. Modern trade is increasingly multimodal: goods move by road, rail, sea and air, across multiple borders and jurisdictions. Yet the legal ability to use negotiable cargo documents has historically been closely associated with maritime transport.

The Convention bridges that gap. Its significance is particularly strong for multimodal trade corridors, emerging and landlocked economies, where access to international markets depends on efficient hinterland connections and the ability to move goods seamlessly across modes and borders. It can facilitate more flexible end-to-end transport, greater legal certainty and access to trade finance, creating new opportunities for businesses, including MSMEs.

“Today marks an exciting milestone for global trade. The Accra Convention reflects how goods actually move today: across modes, borders and increasingly important trade corridors. It creates new possibilities for businesses, particularly in emerging and landlocked markets where efficient multimodal connectivity is essential.

FIATA is proud to have contributed the practical experience and voice of freight forwarders to this landmark framework. And we are ready for the next step. Through the FBL and eFBL, our industry already has established solutions that can put the Convention in practice from day one. We look forward to working with governments, our members and partners worldwide to turn this important legal framework into real opportunities for trade,” Dr Stéphane Graber, FIATA Director General, said.

Throughout the Convention’s development, FIATA played an active role in bringing the operational experience and practical needs of freight forwarders into the drafting process under the auspices of UNCITRAL, alongside partner industry organisations such as with the Global Shippers Forum (GSF) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission. FIATA worked to help ensure that the new framework is grounded in how multimodal trade works in practice and can be translated into commercially workable solutions.

For decades, the negotiable FIATA Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading (FBL) has provided the freight forwarding industry with an established negotiable multimodal transport document, in response to market needs. Its digital evolution, the FIATA eFBL, brings that practical experience into the electronic environment.

Together, the FBL and eFBL provide ready-to-use solutions for NCDs and e-NCDs under the Convention. This means that, from the day the Convention enters into force, freight forwarders already have trusted operational tools through which its benefits can be put into practice.

This readiness is backed by real commercial experience. FIATA has already led real-life transactions testing the NCD framework with the eFBL on international trade routes, including Kazakhstan-China, China-Georgia and Turkmenistan-Romania, spanning rail and multimodal transport and demonstrating how negotiable electronic documentation can work in real supply chains, including in connection with trade financing.

These business cases reinforce a fundamental strength of the Convention: it is not creating a theoretical model and asking the market to adapt to it. It builds on existing practice and responds to demonstrated commercial needs.

The milestone coincides with the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), celebrating six decades of work to harmonise, modernise and unify international trade law. The Accra Convention builds on that legacy by responding to the realities of modern trade and providing a legal framework designed for increasingly multimodal and digital supply chains.

At the official signing ceremony in Accra, Ghana, 26 States* signed the Convention:

Burkina Faso, Guinea, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, China, Mauritania, Comoros, Nicaragua, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cuba, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Dominica, Sierra Leone, Dominican Republic, South Sudan, Gabon, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Ghana and Venezuela.

*Further States are expected to sign imminently, subject to the completion of the required diplomatic procedures

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