Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on June 29, 2021

Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area

Wamkele Mene has said the diaspora has a lot of potentials that could be tapped into developing Africa

He said the Ghana Beyond Aid initiative is a step in the right direction, and the diaspora has played a significant role in governments developmental effort

He also said the AfCFTA agreement paves way for the diaspora to invest and rope in revenue to develop their country

The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene has stated that, the diaspora has positive development potential which when well harnessed, will help mitigate the development challenges of Africa and Ghana, as a whole.

He said there is still potential to enhance engagements not just in dealing with the challenges of COVID-19 but also in the pursuit of national economic development and the AUs Agenda 2063, The Africa We Want, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

He also said the Ghana Beyond Aid initiative is a step in the right direction, and the diaspora has played a significant role in governments developmental effort.

Thankfully, Ghana does not have to reinvent the wheel in forging a meaningful link with its African diaspora since a number of initiatives have already been undertaken toward deepening the cultural linkages and bridging the physical divide between the African (Ghanaian) diaspora and the country.

Initiatives such as the highly successful Ghana Year of Return in 2019, designed to symbolize 400 years since the first enslaved African arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619, resonated with the African American community in the United States and served to further inculcate linkages between Ghana and the diasporan counterparts, he said.

He further added the Ghanaian diaspora community needs to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA, by harnessing the trade and investment engagements within the country.

He said it will enable them to take advantage of the continental market size of more than one billion people with an aggregated gross domestic product of $3.4 trillion created by the Agreement.

Efforts to attract the diaspora could focus on three key economic areas: investments, knowledge and skills and trade facilitation. In terms of investments, mechanisms could be put in place to tap the diaspora as preferred foreign direct investors in continental development projects, he said.

Mr Mene pointed AfCFTA agreement also paves way for the diaspora to invest and rope in revenue to develop their country.

The AfCFTA agreement, whose implementation commenced on January 1, 2021, provides a platform where the African diaspora can play an important role in the economic development of their countries of origin and the continent. There is now increased and diversified opportunities to promote trade and foreign direct investment, create businesses and spur entrepreneurship, transferring new knowledge and skills within the AfCFTA market, he said.

He further stated that almost 69% of countries that have signed the agreement have deposited their instruments of ratification which means that they have legally accepted the obligations to open their markets, reduce their barriers to trade, reduce barriers to investment and to adhere to this single set of rules for trade and investment on the African continent. This is an unprecedented achievement for Africa.

View post:

Focus on investments, knowledge and skills to facilitate trade - Wamkele Mene to Diaspora - GhanaWeb

Category: Diaspora
Tags: