Accra, July 29, GNA - The pace of economic integration among the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been rather slow although the sub-regional grouping has been in existence for 28 years, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Regional Integration and NEPAD, observed on Tuesday.

He said this slow pace could be attributed to major obstacles like the small disjointed nature of the sub-regional economies, common dependence on the export of primary commodities and weak capacities for implementing treaty commitments.

Dr Apraku said this at the formal launching of the maiden edition of the ECOWAS International Business Directory, a business information publication designed to bring business entrepreneurs in West Africa together to know each country's produce and to help increase industrial and economic growth.

The directory, which has already been launched in Nigeria, Benin and Togo, is an annual bilingual publication covering business information of all 16 ECOWAS countries and would be sold at 500,000 cedis in Ghana. Dr Apraku called on ECOWAS heads of states to take a decisive step towards the concretisation of their commitment to regional integration and adopt new strategies.

He said Ghana had redoubled her efforts in a number of programmes to benefit its citizens and has also been working with the Togolese government on modalities to operate the Aflao border on 24-hour basis. Ghana was also seeking financial support to build a common border post for the two countries at Aflao on a pilot basis, to minimise or halt the extortion of unauthorised fees at border post and eliminate rigid border formalities.

The Minister announced that a West Africa Business Roundtable (WABRT) dedicated to achieve a private sector led-regional economic integration and sustainable economic development based on good governance would soon be established to help with the integration process.

WABRT would focus on strengthening the West Africa private sector, promote intra-West African trade and investment to attract foreign investment.

Dr Apraku commended the effort of those behind the business directory saying it would help create awareness for products and services in the sub-region and enable investors to do business with ECOWAS.

Mr Fred Ampene, Vice President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) said, with the introduction of the directory, the huge vacuum between the business directories of individual member-states has been filled. This is because the book would serve as a ready source of information on trade and investment for the use of potential investors. Speaking on the African Growth and Opportunity Acts (AGOA), Mr Alex Newton, Deputy Missions Director of the US Embassy in Ghana, said 18 of the 38 AGOA beneficiary countries - Ghana, Senegal and Cape Verde - were now eligible for apparel benefits.