In line with Ghana’s strategy to increase trade within Africa under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) in collaboration with the National Coordination Office (NCO) of the AfCFTA participated in the Ghana Expo 2024 in Tanzania from Wednesday 24th January to Sunday 28th January 2024, at the Mlimani City Conference Centre in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
The Ghana Expo 2024 follows the successful market entry expedition to Kenya in May 2023, which introduced 63 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) into the East African market. To consolidate the gains made in Kenya the NCO, in collaboration with its partners, organised the five-day event to facilitate the entry of Ghanaian enterprises, products and services to the Tanzanian market.
The event dubbed, “Driving the AfCFTA Momentum: Enhancing Ghana – Tanzania Trade Relations,” seeks to foster business partnerships, explore trade prospects, and promote investment between the two countries through structured ‘business to business’ matchmaking sessions. The event is considered as Ghana’s contribution to the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) under the AfCFTA, launched in October 2022 which enabled Ghanaian shippers to test trade documentation under the AfCFTA.
Speakers at the opening ceremony commended the organisers of the EXPO and called on state parties to collaborate to achieve the goals of the Continental Agreement. Dr. Fareed Arthur, the Coordinator of the AfCFTA NCO, noted that the decision to organise an EXPO in Tanzania was primarily influenced by an invitation from the President of Tanzania during her visit to the Secretariat in May 2023.
Mrs. Monica Josiah, Head of Shipper Service and Trade Facilitation department of the GSA, underscored the critical role of shipping in the success of the AfCFTA. She indicated the success of AfCFTA will be impeded if deliberate measures are not made to provide the necessary shipping infrastructure and streamline processes in the shipping value chain.
She also stressed the need for traders to comprehend import and export requirements and procedures of the African countries they intend to trade with, to facilitate the smooth flow of goods under the AfCFTA. She urged exporters and importers in Ghana to seek necessary guidance from the GSA in matters relating to cargo shipment.
