The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has revealed her vision for the position of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
She proposed a transformative trade and development agenda for the commonwealth to promote free trade.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration who is seeking to be the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth made this statement at the Economic Counsellors’ Dialogue which was on the theme: Navigating the changing landscape of international investment agreements.
The Economic Counsellors’ Dialogue was a collaboration between the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
Delivering her keynote speech, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey called for a review of some mutually beneficial bilaterally economic agreements that Ghana has with some of its partner countries to reflect the changing economic situation.
She reiterated that this would pave the way for a successful free trade agreement among member states within the Commonwealth that would reap the benefits of enhancing integration and participation in global and regional supply chains, and also boost participation in the multilateral trading system.
“Ghana’s domestic and foreign policies underscore the importance of maintaining strong bilateral economic relations with our international partners to attract the much-needed foreign investment towards the building of a strong and resilient Ghanaian economy.
In this regard, while I am happy to note that Ghana has over the years leveraged on its cordial relations with key partners to enter into mutually beneficial bilateral economic agreements, I believe that it is time to review some of these agreements so that they reflect the changing and dynamic international economic situation.,” she added.
The Minister additionally highlighted measures to ensure foreign investors are secured and investments are easy to carry out in Ghana.
She stressed that the business environment in Ghana has become conducive for investments through digitalization and initiatives such as an E-business registration system, a digital addressing system, a mobile money interoperability system, and a national identity card system among others.
“These initiatives by far have assisted in lowering the cost of doing business and have made it easier for firms to communicate with their customers. Similarly, state institutions such as the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, the Ghana Enterprise Agency, and the Ghana Free Zones Board are all better placed and ready to assist, secure, and sustain investments in the country.”
Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey pointed out agriculture and agribusiness, manufacturing, industry, ICT, and automobiles as areas where investment opportunities abound in Ghana.
She is therefore advocating for the projection of Ghana to the private sector as the preferred destination for doing business and the preferred destination for tourists.
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Source: Flora Tang/ATLFMNEWS
