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President Akufo-Addo officially announced on Tuesday the start of Ghana’s trade relations with other African countries under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
This means that Ghanaian entrepreneurs and manufacturers could start trading and exporting goods to countries that had signed and ratified the agreement, which took off on January 1, 2021.
Speaking at a business forum to assess stakeholders on Ghana’s implementing arrangements for transparent trade under the agreement, President Akufo-Addo said the start of exchanges within the framework of the AfCFTA represented an important step towards achieving the objective of continental integration.
He said the development was a crucial step for job creation, industrialization and sustainable development for Ghana’s youth, adding that the government would ensure that Ghanaian businesses get the maximum benefit from the AfCFTA agreement.
The forum was organized by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority to draw attention to the implementation modalities of the start of trade under the ZLECAf.
Ghana has spearheaded the acceleration of the implementation of the African continental integration effort and had the honor of hosting the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra by the African Union.
On Friday, January 1, 2021, trade officially began as part of the AfCFTA agreement, whose main objectives are to create a continental common market that facilitates the movement of goods, services and people and promotes industrial development and a sustainable and inclusive socio-economic growth in Africa.
Noting several reasons why the AfCFTA would be successful, President Akufo-Addo said that an African single market would increase intra-African trade by nearly $ 35 billion per year, by harnessing the purchasing power of the $ 1.2 billion. inhabitants of the continent.
He said the deal would unlock and transform the continent’s huge resource endowment through value addition, increase export earnings in Africa and foster the regional value chain, as well as create huge opportunities. jobs for the teeming youth of the continent.
The president said the government’s strategy to support the private sector to boost exports to other African countries underpinned Ghana’s action plans to boost intra-African trade.
Fortunately for Ghana, he said, the government had instituted a national export development strategy that would allow the country to take full advantage of the phenomenal opportunities offered by the trade agreement.
The implementation of flagship and priority government programs such as the One District initiative, One Factory, the Planting for Food and Jobs program, Planting for Food and Export Program, the Strategic Anchor Industries initiative, the port modernization program and the New Integrated Program Trade Facilitation and Customs Management System is designed to transform the Ghanaian economy and position Ghana as the region’s new manufacturing hub.
The government, said President Akufo-Addo, is committed to ensuring that adequate financial and human resources are mobilized to make Ghana a new trading center for trade, finance and investment on the continent.
He urged stakeholders in the export value chain, including relevant ministries, trade and investment promotion agencies, regulatory institutions and business development service providers, to work closely together towards l common objective of ensuring a common continental market.
Africa’s intra-trade is between 16% and 18%, with the continent doing most of its trade with the rest of the world, exporting its resources, including those from the extractive sector, in essentially raw form.
The entry into force of the AfCFTA agreement would eliminate all barriers to intra-African trade, give the peoples of the continent access to much larger markets, as it supports increased industrialization and added value on the continent. .
—GNA
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