Ghana and Nigeria must lead efforts to increase trade among countries in West Africa, to help accelerate investments in the sub-region, Mrs Irene Maama, Ghana’s Acting High Commissioner to Nigeria has said.

Speaking at the Ghana Special Day celebration on the sidelines of the 8th Abuja International Fair, Mrs Maama said the current low level of trade in the sub-region would not spur the pace of growth and development required. The Ghana Day celebration was to draw attention of investors to opportunities in the country and how they could tap them.

Trade among West African countries is currently below 10 per cent, a trend Mrs Maama said must be reversed to enable the region to create jobs and speed up development. Mrs Maama attributed the low level of intra-regional trade to member states’ violation of various protocols that are aimed to boost trade, poor infrastructure and extortion at the frontiers.

“Member states who are signatories to the protocol blatantly violate its provisions. Prohibition lists, exorbitant transit fees, extortion at the numerous check points on our roads and poor infrastructure are some of the challenges that undermine the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme,” she said.

Another challenge is the lack of a direct sea link to move goods from one port to another within the sub-region. She said while a cargo shipment from the United States to Lagos might take about 10 days, it takes 45 days for a shipment from Lagos to the Tema port in Accra as the cargo must first be shipped to Europe and then trans-shipped to Ghana’s port.

It is in this direction, she said, that Ghana is fully committed to the “ECO-LINK” project, a sub-regional effort, to help establish a direct sea link to move goods faster. It is being implemented through the initiative of NEXIM Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with ECOWAS Commission, governments, Chambers of Commerce and Industry and other stakeholders in the sub-region.

“Ghana is committed to seeing to the realisation of this project and will provide priority berthing for vessels of the project through the establishment of a West African port,” the Acting High Commissioner said. Mrs Maama urged Ghana and Nigeria to deepen collaboration and to explore investment opportunities in each other’s country.

She said there are more trade avenues to enhance growth. “Ghana will continue to participate in Fairs organised in Nigeria in order to take advantage of the huge opportunities that the Nigerian market offers as the largest in the ECOWAS sub- region,” she said.

Mrs Maama said the economic growth and development of any nation is hinged on the development of its Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), explaining that it is the fastest way to grow the economies of the two countries, increase employment and provide sustainable livelihoods.

It is therefore important to stimulate the SME sector and make it a main target of government policies and programmes by eliminating challenges such as lack of financing, poor infrastructure and poor managerial skills.

GEPA and the Ghana High Commission in Nigeria are coordinating the participation of 50 companies in the 8th Abuja International Fair, which is being held on the theme “Promoting the Culture of Production and Innovation in SMEs to achieve Competiveness and National Development”.

The Ghana day celebration was attended by officials from other countries, including Angola, Iraq and Zambia.