CNN economic presenter John Defterios hosted a panel talk on world trade with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO of DP World, and Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Rwanda’s Minister of Trade and Industry. Defterios set the tone for the discussion, highlighting the increasing appetite in the West for populism, with Bin Sulayem stating that, although he believed there were plenty of populist rhetoric being used in the West, he felt optimistic that political action remained in favor of globalization. Meanwhile, the Rwandan Minister of Trade and Industry said that although the rhetoric between the US and China, as the two largest world economies, could be perceived as “an issue”, Rwanda’s current greatest focus is on developing a flourishing single market across the African continent. At the African Union summit held last year in Kigali, Rwanda, more than 50 African nations signed up to the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) Agreement, which aims to unite 1.2 billion people in a single market.