Mr. John Apea
The Commonwealth Ambassador to the African Region, His Excellency Mr. John Apea, has expressed his joy at the creation of the United Kingdom – Ghana Chamber of Commerce, which occurred at the Residence of the British High Commissioner to Ghana, His Excellency Mr. Jon Benjamin, last week.
Interviewed at the Royal Commonwealth Society’s Africa Headquarters in Accra, Mr. Apea, who acted as host at the inaugural event, mentioned that trade in the Commonwealth or amongst Commonwealth member countries, is the answer to volatile markets in both emerging and developed economies. Mr. Apea reiterated his point by notingthat: “by 2019, for example, trade in the Commonwealth region, will have overtaken the European Union economyas a whole, by contributing 17.7 per cent in terms of global trade, compared to the European Union’s 15.3 per cent”. He further addedthat:“the private sector, rather than government spending will be the primary vehicle of growth in most developed and emerging economies, in the years to come”.
Asked to comment on Brexit and its impact on the Commonwealth, Mr. Apea argued that Brexit was a decision for the British people. He added: “people must stop looking at Brexit and the Commonwealth as binaries, where it is either one or the another”. Mr. Apea continued: “ the decision has been made. There will be implications, opportunities and challenges, but we must all get in the saddle and steer the horse in the right direction”.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 independent and equal sovereign states. It is home to 2.2 billion citizens, of which over 60% are under the age of 30. The Commonwealth includes some of the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest countries, spanning five regions. Thirty-one of its members are small states, many of them island nations.
Its guiding principles are contained in the Commonwealth Charter.