President Nana Akufo-Addo
The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, Wamkele Mene, has presented his credentials to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.
The credentials presentation was done on Monday, August 17, 2020 ahead of the Commissioning and handing over of the Secretariat to the African Union Commission today.
During the presentation, the Minister assured the Secretary-General of the Government of Ghana’s commitment in working closely with him towards the successful implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement.
She reiterated the importance of the AfCFTA Agreement in transforming the lives of Africans.
Ms Ayorkor Botchwey expressed appreciation to the African Union Commission for their continued cooperation in transitioning the interim Secretariat of the AfCFTA from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the permanent Secretariat in Accra, Ghana;
She highlighted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa now more than ever needs to catalyse its industrialization process with the aim of increasing intra-African trade.
The minister urged the Secretary-General to use his good offices to encourage Member States to ratify the Agreement to facilitate negotiations and decision-making processes as well as mobilise resources for the work of the Secretariat.
She recalled the decision to postpone the start of trading to 1 January, 2021 and encourage the Secretary-General to work diligently towards completing all outstanding work and negotiations before the deadline.
She indicated the need to leverage on the excitement of Africans towards this historic Agreement and remind the Secretary-General to implement people-centred policies to benefit the ordinary African.
She assured the Secretary- General of her availability and that of the Ministry to assist him in the discharge of his duties and to make his tenure fulfilling.
By Melvin Tarlue