The Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to expedite the process of harmonising standards to facilitate trade in the sub-region.
She said one of the key tenets of ECOWAS was economic empowerment but trade disruptions and global inflationary trends pose a major challenge to the region.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare was speaking at the 4th Joint Meeting of the ECOWAS ministers of Trade and Industry held in Abuja, Nigeria aimed at promoting intra-regional trade to spur growth.
The Trade, Agric Business and Industry minister said she was committed to working with Ministers from ECOWAS to reset regional trade imbalances by taking advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other market access.
The sector Minister said the African AfCFTA had the potential to transform Africa’s economy with a projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$45B by 2035.
To enhance the movement of goods and services across the region, the Minister said there was the need for a joint meeting between the Ministers of Trade and Industry and Ministers of Transport to address the bottlenecks.
“Our inability to address this as a matter of urgency would undermine the private sector’s efforts in deepening our bilateral trade,” Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said.
Speaking on behalf of the ECOWAS Commission, Mrs Toure-Litse reaffirmed the commitment of the Commission to continue to promote and fast-track the implementation of economic integration programmes at regional and continental levels, including issues related to the elimination of trade barriers, improvement of regional quality infrastructure as well as the implementation of various regional initiatives to promote regional value chains and investment.
Dr Paul Koffi Koffi, the President of WAEMU Commission, said that WAEMU was committed to working alongside ECOWAS to address the common challenges confronting the sub-region.
Senator John Owan Enoh, who represented the Government of Federal Republic of Nigeria, said he was hopeful that the recommendations from the Ministerial Meeting would address issues related to industrial development and improvement of intra-regional trade.
The chairperson of the 4th Joint Meeting of the ECOWAS Ministers of Trade and Industry, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, added that the presence of her colleague ministers demonstrated the commitment of sector ministers to advancing regional integration, fostering industrial development, and enhancing trade within the community.
In attendance were Mr Kofi Addo, Chief Commercial Officer and Mrs Stella Akosua Ansah, Chief Commercial Officer both of Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness & Industry; Mr Yao Fechin Akoto, Ghana Revenue Authority, Customs Division and Mrs Diana A. Amponsah of Ghana Standards Authority.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
