Josiah
During the State visit of President Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo highlighted the significant progress made by Ghanaian products under the Guided Trade Initiative of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
President Akufo-Addo noted that since the launch of the Guided Trade Initiative in October 2022, over 700 AfCFTA self-defined products from Ghana, including cosmetics, processed foods, coconut oil, Shea butter, and garments, have been rolled out and targeted by the AfCFTA market. Speaking at a Joint Press conference following bilateral engagements with President Embaló and his Ministerial team, President Akufo-Addo expressed optimism about the transformative potential of these initiatives, stating that they would maximize the benefits from Ghana’s abundant natural resources and participation in the AfCFTA, ultimately leading to progress and prosperity for the people.
He emphasized that Ghana’s participation, along with seven other countries, in the GTI of the AfCFTA would boost intra-Africa trade, enhance the competitive advantage of participating countries, and strengthen their position in the global market. President Akufo-Addo highlighted the GTI’s success in penetrating the East African market, notably in Kenya and Tanzania.
The Guided Trade Initiative aims to facilitate meaningful commercial trading and test the operational, institutional, legal, and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA, which seeks to unify a market of approximately 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.
President Akufo-Addo and President Embaló discussed strategies to further enhance political, economic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges between Ghana and Guinea-Bissau. They explored ways to drive domestic and foreign investment into both countries and strengthen cooperation in various sectors, including education, trade, agriculture, fisheries, technology, petroleum, hydrocarbon activities, and tourism.
Additionally, they emphasized the importance of advocating for urgent reforms in the United Nations, particularly its Security Council, based on the Common African Position on UN reform. Both leaders agreed to convene the inaugural session of the Permanent Joint Commission for cooperation later in the year, providing a framework to address trade and investment concerns between the two countries.
Discussions also encompassed cooperation in the development of fisheries sectors, including joint venture partnerships, training programs, exchange of information, and bilateral fishing agreements aimed at safeguarding the interests of both nations.
Source:Omanghana.com
