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Ghana remains a strategic trade partner for South Africa in West Africa and the expansion of trade among  African nations holds key to faster growth and development in the continent. This was said by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mzwandile Masina during the Trade and Investment seminar that took place in Accra, Ghana yesterday.

Masina said access to markets as fellow African countries served as a draw-card for direct investments. It also  serves to transform the region and Africa from small fragmented markets to one large market where companies can achieve economies of scale, lower production costs and ultimately global competitiveness.

“We need to build industrial and manufacturing capacity in each other’s economies. Furthermore, the importance of sound investment in infrastructure development in terms of roads, rail, ports, telecommunications and the removal of regulatory barriers that have a negative impact on movements of goods and services, cannot be over-emphasised,” he said.

Masina told businesspeople from Ghana and South Africa that the latter’s priority is to champion integration and developmental agenda in Africa in respect of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the recently launched tripartite initiative to integrate SADC, the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

“The Tripartite Free Trade Area will combine the markets of 26 countries with a population of nearly 600 million people and a combined GDP of $1 trillion. This will form the basis for an Africa-wide Free Trade Agreement, which is expected to create a market of $2.6 trillion,” added Masina.

The Ghanaian Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Kweku Hagan said the infrastructure required to drive Ghana economy into a full scale national development trajectory was massive. This, he said, presents a huge opportunity for foreign direct investments into that sector especially from South Africa.

Hagan urged South African businesspeople to look into a partnership arrangement for the development of the Accra Plains irrigation project and the infrastructure development projects such as free economic zones as they present very useful settings and incentives for investors.

Caption: Deputy Minister Mzwandile Masina addressing businesspeople in Accra, Ghana.

Issued by The Departent of Trade and Industry