The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on nations in the African continent to work closely to boost income generated from natural resources especially oil and gas.

The Vice President was of the view that Africa has a lot of natural resources and it is the major producer of raw materials for giant manufacturing and production companies in the world hence the call for cooperation to grow the continent’s economy.

He was speaking at the Ghana International Petroleum Conference which is being held virtually via Zoom.

“Africa is undoubtedly the third economic force of the world but we need to cooperate with each other and grow the continent. Africa countries should work together to grow the petroleum sector, we can also export crude oil on large scales when we work together as a continent and industry players. This conference gives us that opportunity to think together and come up with relevant policies and measures to grow our downstream petroleum sector,” he noted.

Dr Bawumia during his address noted that the African Continental Free Trade Area is an essential platform for private-sector agencies to work together to achieve the feat.

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.