Mr Yaya Yedan, Country Representative of the Burkina Shippers' Council in Ghana, has said elimination of trade barriers in West Africa was the key to the economic growth of the sub-region.
Speaking at the launch of a Trade Show at the parking lot of the Black Star Line in Tema, Mr Yedan said there was the need for governments in the sub-region to eliminate barriers such as excessive documentation and cumbersome procedures at the ports, checkpoints and borders to ensure free movement of goods and services.
The initiative dubbed "Borderless" and aimed at removing trade barriers in West Africa, was put together by USAID's West Africa Trade Hub
and the World Bank-funded Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization (ALCO).
Mr Yedan explained that "Borderless" was a vision of trade competitiveness based on the ECOWAS goal of regional integration.
Mr Amadou Ba, Team Leader of the Improved Road Transport Governance at the West Africa Trade Hub, said studies had shown that inefficient transport and trade barriers translated into higher prices of goods for consumers.
Mr Ba said apart from importers passing along high transport costs to consumers, trade barriers were also discouraging to investors.
"Eliminating trade barriers starts with greater awareness and continues with partners acting to remove trade barriers. Borderless is the catalyst for the change," he said.
Mr Ba said "Borderless" meant legal trucks carrying legal cargoes without being harassed or delayed and urged governments in the sub-region to co-operate in order to remove trade barriers along their borders.