Ghana-UK signs trade partnership agreement
REMARKS BY THE HON. MINISTER DESIGNATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY OF
THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA ON THE OCCASION OF THE SIGNING OF THE INTERIM
GHANA-UK TRADE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
TUESDAY, MARCH 2ND 2021
The
Rt. Hon. Secretary of State for International Trade
Senior
UK Government Officials
Representatives
from the Ghana High Commission
Distinguished Ladies and
Gentlemen
Today marks a very important day as we witness
the signing of the new Interim Trade Partnership Agreement between the Republic
of Ghana and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The new Agreement replaces the Interim Ghana
– European Union Economic Partnership Agreement which governed trade relations
between Ghana and the UK until the Interim EPA Agreement ceased to apply to the
UK on December 31, 2020.
Negotiations between Ghana and the UK technical
teams for this new trade framework started in March 2018 and as is often the
case with trade agreements, the negotiations have taken quite a bit of time for
us to reach consensus on the fundamental elements of the new Agreement.
I wish first to thank the Rt. Hon. Liz
Truss for her constructive engagement and the flexibility she has shown in the
negotiations which made it possible to arrive at the desirable outcome we
celebrate today with the signing of the new Interim Ghana-UK Trade Partnership
Agreement.
Secondly, I would like to thank the UK
Negotiation Team and my own Team for their diligence and professionalism as
they engaged in consultations on the structure and content of the Agreement. I
am pleased both the UK and Ghana agreed to use the Regional EPA text for ECOWAS
as the basis for this new Agreement.
The new Agreement reaffirms the deep interest of both
Ghana and the UK to strengthen our longstanding trade and economic relationship
and establishes a new framework for Ghana-UK collaboration which will
contribute to sustained economic growth in Ghana.
The Agreement also reflects the importance that both
the UK and Ghana attach to integration between the West African States within
the context of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and
amongst African States within the context of the African Continental Free Trade
Area (AfCFTA).
Under the new Agreement we hope to build the
foundation for negotiating a free trade agreement between the UK and ECOWAS
which will promote regional integration, economic cooperation and good economic
governance in the West African region and increase intra-regional trade.
I believe the new Agreement would
further support the economic and sustainable development agenda of Ghana by
enhancing Ghana’s export potential and export diversification. In particular,
it will provide duty free-quota free access for Ghanaian exports to the UK
market, enhance the competitiveness of local industries and improve the
business environment in Ghana through development cooperation between our two
countries.
I also believe the Agreement will
complement priority policies and projects of the Government of Ghana, in
particular the Industrial Transformation Agenda and the National Export
Development Strategy which are designed to boost industrial production and
enhance export development.
I wish to use this opportunity to thank the
UK Government for actively supporting our programme of developing new Strategic
Anchor Industries which seek to build new economic pillars of growth and
diversify the Ghanaian economy beyond Cocoa and Gold.
In this regard, I would like to make special
mention of the support we have received from the UK Government in the
development of the Automotive Industry as well as the Garment and
Pharmaceutical industries.
I would like to conclude by saying that
there could not have been a better time than now for the UK and Ghana to be
entering into this new Agreement, which hopefully will provide the stimulus for
the revitalization of the economies of our two countries particularly in a
post-COVID era.
God bless the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland
God bless the Republic of Ghana
Thank you
