Amadu Kamil Sanah, GNA
Accra, Sept. 29, GNA –
Togbe Afede XIV, the Executive Chairman of the World Trade Centre (WTC) Accra,
has charged members of the African Diplomatic Corps to use their influence to
convince their governments to set up WTC offices in their countries.
“We at the WTC-Accra
believe that one way of promoting intra-Africa trade is to expand the concept
of World Trade Centre to other African countries”.
This, he said, has the
potential to deepen and promote intra-Africa trade on the Continent and provide
the needed network or platform to further its course.
Togbe Afede made the
appeal at a meeting in Accra organised by the WTC on the theme: “Regional
Integration: Role of the African Diplomatic Corps”.
The meeting, the
second in the series, brought together representatives of the African
Diplomatic Corps to discuss the topic.
Tobge Afede said
Africa accounted for about 30 per cent of natural resources and mineral
reserves globally and 20 per cent of the world’s landmarks, but sadly, only two
per cent of the world’s trade and about two per cent of total Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) are attributable to Africa.
He said there was the
need to increase the share of the world trade and global GDP and questioned why
Africa accounted for so little when the potential was huge.
He urged African
leaders to up their game and work to increase the Continent’s trade, which must
reflect in solving unemployment and reducing poverty.
Togbe Afede said there
were enormous potentials for the Continent to deepen trade ties with the rest
of the world and make it prosperous.
He said the only
answer to the Continent’s problems was to increase trade among African
countries, adding that; “Only about 18 per cent of the total African external
trade are among African countries as compared to the statistics for Asia, which
had 59 per cent and Europe, 69 per cent.”
Togbe Afede said the
African Diplomatic Community could be a channel through which those concerns
could be expressed to their governments.
Ms Jane
Reindorf-Attoh, the Managing Director of WTC Accra, called on African diplomats
to play a major role in promoting trade and investment for the Continent to
realize her dream.
She said the Centre
worked with the private sector and facilitated trade missions to other
countries to provide partnerships, trade and investment opportunities.
“We also receive
incoming trade missions of the private sector from other countries that want to
do business in Ghana”.
Ms Reindorf-Attoh said
the meeting was structured to develop an action plan for implementation and
monitoring to address pertinent issues and challenges hindering trade and
investments in Africa.
GNA