Accra, Jan. 31, GNA - The Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) would soon develop a coherent national Services Export Strategy to provide a blueprint for the development and promotion of the sector. The strategy document, which is expected to be ready by June this year, is said be coming at a time when the country is scaling up its efforts in positioning services as a viable pillar of growth in a match towards export excellence.

Mr. Edward Collins Boateng, Executive Secretary of GEPC said this at the opening of the first consultative workshop in Accra to solicit views and inputs from stakeholders to formulate a comprehensive strategy for the export of professional services, review the training component of GEPC and develop a manual on the export of professional services. The development of the strategy is being prepared by consultants of CTA Economic and Export Analysts limited and Plan Consult, consulting firms in Ghana with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat. Mr Boateng said services had been identified as a critical sector that had the potential to improve export earnings and required to be developed and promoted, adding that other countries like Malaysia and Sri Lanka had been successful in implementing the strategy. "The national strategy is imperative, if we are to be successful in the path we are chatting. It will help us to identify specific services sectors of national competitiveness, key market and institutional support systems, among others and make the necessary recommendations that ultimately support successful market entry and sustenance strategies", he added.

Mr. Boateng explained that the export trade in services was a very complex activity, making the targeted international market increasingly competitive and difficult to enter. "Our ability to compete will depend on how we catch up with the changing trends. And we can only do this when we strategise and innovatively stand fully prepared for the challenges that stir right in our faces in the services sector".

He appealed to stakeholders to contribute and share their varied experiences and perspectives in the export trade of services to enrich the final output of the strategy document to enhance the practical growth in the services sector.

Ms Estella Aryada, of the Special Advisory Services Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat noted that developing the services sector offered a viable complement to the export of goods and could reduce dependence on goods for export and could also help a country to earn additional revenue.

She said with the development challenges facing member countries, such a strategy would enable countries to attract investment into services-oriented sectors that had particular focus on the export market. "With both government and the private sector working together, I believe that Ghanaians can improve their competitiveness and earnings through exporting professional services and we hope the strategy will be a viable tool that will increase Ghana's share of professional services export", she added. Mr. Mark Hellyer, Director of the Economic and Export Analysts Limited one of the consultants working on the strategy said health and social services, education, communication, business, tourism, construction, environment and transport were classified as some of the services areas. Hs said the objective was to support GEPC to provide and promote exports of Ghana's services sector and called on the export industry to cooperate nationally and fight the competition on the international market. 31 Jan. 08