He said the potential of the region was huge and above all strategically well-positioned and in proximity to the West African enclave.

Dr Arthur said these during the Volta Regional Conference and Stakeholder Engagement on the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in Ho.

It was organised by the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Regional Coordinating Council, and partners.

He said intra-African trade constituted only 12-15 per cent and three per cent of world trade, while intra-American and intra-European trades accounted for some 60 and 57 per cent.

He said India and China had harnessed their human and other resources to create the enabling global markets on all fronts and Africa with its resources would rake in some US$3.5 trillion in Gross Domestic Product, with some recent estimates pointing to US$7 trillion when the informal sector is added.

He espoused the journey, leading up to the signing and ratification the AfCFTA agreement with Ghana playing crucial roles, including being the first country to sign the document.

Dr Arthur said 54 out of 55 countries had signed the agreement, with 47 state parties ratifying, with Ghana playing host to the headquarters of AfCFTA, denoting it as the commercial gateway to the continent.

He said the AfCFTA NCO is sensitising stakeholders to facilitate participation and trade among businesses with varied unique potential to be harnessed.

Mr Jacob Gyamfi-Aidoo, Senior Advisor, Capacity Building and Stakeholder Engagement of NCO, said the government and its partners were adopting an inclusive, deliberate and intentional approach to bring everyone on board.

He said the implementation of AfCFTA required a multi-stakeholder engagement, collaboration and effective coordinating national NCO anchored on its seven components, 24 policy objectives, 37 policy prescription, 69 outputs and 55 implementation agencies.

Dr Archibald Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, said the platform would create a more vigorous collaboration between all key stakeholders “so that we can, in unison, create a more enabling environment to attract and boost free trade by establishing a mutually beneficial trade agreement among the relevant entities.”

He said the success of these partnerships would lead to employment generation, technology transfer, improved trade and higher levels of revenue generation for the benefit of citizens.

He said the downward productivity in agriculture, financial technology, IT and in the creative industry, among others, obviously showed the low economic activities in the region, reflecting in low exports and job creation.

He commended the Ministry of Trade and Industry for their initiative to bailout businesses with tailor-made products for all to succeed.

“There is, therefore, the need to encourage more public-private partnerships and linkages to actualise the gains of the AfCFTA,” Dr Letsa stated.
Mr Augustus K. Awity, Volta Regional Coordinating Director, giving an overview of industries being targeted to include 499 farm-based industries, 219 agro industrial, 419 primary fabricated and repairs, 1,778 traditional craft and 2,751 agro-processing industries.

He noted that AfCFTA had a comparative advantage of open and growth of small-scale businesses, encouraged industrialisation in the region, foster competition in manufacturing, elimination of tariffs, settling of disputes, creation of single market, eliminate trade barriers, protects intellectual property rights, as well as economic boost and trade diversification.

He enumerated challenges to include limited access to finance by SMEs especially trade finance, network infrastructure in terms of rail, road and air transport as well as internet penetration, power supply, deficiency in human and technological capacity of SMEs.

Mr Awity said though the challenges were many and would take longer time to be resolved, the region could redeem itself by taking advantage of the AfCFTA and called for more sensitisation programmes in the Municipalities and Districts.

Public and private institutions and businesses across all sectors in the region benefited from the meeting.