The African Continental Free Trade Area, or AFCFTA, offers prospects to Ghana and Africa as a whole, and the government reiterated its commitment to doing so at the opening of the 74th Annual New Year School and Conference.
Speaking to attendees at the Conference in Accra, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said the AFCFTA is in line with the government’s determination to transition the nation away from aid, and that this can be done with the trade-related infrastructure investments the government is making to position the nation to increase trade.
According to Dr. Bawumia, the Ministry of Finance would provide funding for the Youth Digital Project, which was started by the Corporate Advisory Team of the University of Ghana’s Annual New Year School and Conference.
The University of Ghana’s flagship program, the Annual New Year School and Conference, has existed since 1948 and provides a forum for stakeholders to discuss regional, national, and international issues that have an immediate influence on the economy. The theme of this year’s New Year School, which is led by the School of Continuing and Distance Education of the university’s College of Education, is “Positioning the African Market for Sustainable Economic Development through the African Continental Free Trade Area, AFCFTA.”
Vice President Bawumia stated that the AfCFTA will succeed and give a new push and energy for the rapid expansion of Africa’s economy as well as deepen the process of integration in Africa if it is implemented. The government is completely committed to implementing the AfCFTA, he added. He urged Africans to seize the opportunity of the AfCFTA and turn the continent into a powerful player in commerce.
The moment has come for Africa to diversify its economy and lessen its reliance on imports, according to Wamkele Mene, secretary general of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
