Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare has urged the West African regional bloc to reposition trade among its member states to boost intra-African trade.
OfosuAdjare observed during the recent 4th Joint Meeting of trade ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria, that the current geo-political realignment, trade disruptions, and global inflationary trends posed a major challenge to the sub-region.
She said the gloomy picture should rather be seen as an opportunity to leverage on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and other markets.
“One of the key tenets of ECOWAS is economic empowerment and current geo-political realignment, trade disruptions affecting supply chains coupled with global inflationary trends poses a major challenge to the region. However, this was an opportune time to reset regional trade imbalances by taking advantage of AfCFTA and other markets,” said the Ghanaian minister.
“Overall, AfCFTA has the potential to transform Africa’s economy with a projected gross domestic product (GDP) of 7 percent or 45 billion U.S. dollars by 2035 and to boost intra-African trade,” added Ofosu-Adjare.
Touching on infrastructural and logistics support to enhance the movement of goods and services within the West African sub-region, the Trade Minister stressed the need for a joint meeting of trade and transport ministers to discuss the way forward.
“Our inability to address this as a matter of urgency would undermine the private sectors efforts in deepening bilateral trade,” she further stated.
On behalf of the ECOWAS Commission, Mrs. Toure-Liste reaffirmed the commitment of the Commission to continue to promote and accelerate the implementation of economic integration programmes at regional and continental levels, including issues related to the elimination of trade barriers, improvement of regional quality infrastructure as well as the implementation of various regional initiatives to promote regional value chains and investment.
Chairperson of the 4th Joint Meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Trade and Industry, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, observed that the presence of her colleague ministers demonstrated the collective commitment of sector ministers to advancing regional integration, fostering industrial development, and enhancing trade within the sub-region.
In line with the desire to promote intra-regional trade and spur growth, the 4th Joint Meeting of the ECOWAS Ministers of Trade and Industry focussed on various multilateral, continental, regional, and bilateral trade issues including the outcome of the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting (MC13), the status of the AfCFTA, bilateral trading relations.
The rest are the draft Cooperation Agreement between the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) and Member States on the implementation of Competition and Consumer Protection Rules within ECOWAS.