The Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen has said government has positioned the local industry to take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) selected Ghana as the host country for the Secretariat.
Mr. Kyerematen was in Parliament to outlined the immense benefits the country stands to reap from its selection as the host country for the secretariat of the continental body
Speaking to Citi News, Alan Kyerematen said local businesses will benefit from the latest arrangement.
“By creating a market of 1.2 billion people, you are expanding access in terms of a market opportunity to small and medium enterprises… All our young boys now have an opportunity, duty-free, quota-free to South Africa.”
The decision was announced on Sunday, 7th July, 2019, at the 12th AU Extraordinary Summit held in Niamey, the capital of Niger, after Ghana beat off competition from Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal.
The core mandate of the Secretariat will be to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, which has since been ratified by 25 member states.
In his acceptance speech, during the close session of the Summit, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, thanked the Assembly for the decision, stating that “it is a privilege that, for the first time in our nation’s history, we have the responsibility of hosting an important pan-African institution”.