Ghana hands over AfCFTA Secretariat Building to AUC
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Alexander Nyarko Yeboah – GITFIConline.com
Gitficonline.com—The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo is set to commission the African Continent Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) Secretariat Building to fulfill Ghana’s interest to assist the promotion of free trade in Africa.
The ceremony, which will take place on Monday in Accra, also involves the handing over of the facility to the African Union Commission (AUC) to mark the beginning of the operation of AFCFTA in Ghana.
Gitficonline.com sighted this on Saturday in a press release signed by the Minister of Trade, Mr. Alan Kyeremanteng and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchway.
The handing over ceremony will be attended by the chairperson of the AUC, the newly elected Secretary-General of AFCFTA, and some Ghanaian officials such as the Speaker of Parliament, Chairman of the Council of State, Senior Government Officials and Members of the Diplomatic Corps.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a limited number of other guests from the Private Sector and other Public Organizations have been invited to witness the ceremony. The ceremony will be broadcast live through local and international television networks and social media platforms to a global audience.
The AFCFTA will administer the free trade agreement, creating a single market for 55 countries with a combined population of 1.2 billion and a total Gross Domestic Product of about US $ 2.5 trillion. So far, 54 countries have signed the agreement with 28 countries ratifying same.
It would be recalled that at the 12th African Union extraordinary summit held in Niamey, Niger in 2019, Ghana was selected to host the secretariat of AFCFTA by member states of the African Union.
As part of the obligations and commitment under the Host Country Agreement, Ghana was required to provide a fully furnished office complex as the headquarters for the AFCFTA secretariat and an official residence of the Secretary-General.
The hosting of AFCFTA secretariat in Ghana will promote Ghana as an attractive regional and investment hub in Africa, boost economic activities, and provide job opportunities for Ghanaians.
