Ghana has been elected as the Vice Chairman of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) for 2020- 2021 during the 53rd Session held on July 6, in New York, USA.

UNCITRAL is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of International Trade Law.

A legal body with universal membership specializing in commercial law reform worldwide for over 50 years, UNCITRAL’s business is the modernization and harmonization of rules on international business.

The Commission is active in negotiating and producing texts including conventions, model laws and legislative guides in a range of subject areas.  

There are currently six Intergovernmental Working Groups within UNCITRAL negotiating texts in the following areas: Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises; Arbitration and Conciliation; Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform; Electronic Commerce; Insolvency Law; and Judicial Sales.

UNCITRAL seeks to create a harmonized and efficient system of international trade law, as the necessary framework for the safe and stable development of trade and investment.

The Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, explained that Government has been working with colleague member states within the Trade and Investment ecosystem across the world to promote international trade, particularly intra African trade.

He said Ghana would therefore use its one-year mandate to boost productive capacity and promote intra African trade and investments as countries seek to implement Post COVID economic recovery programmes and interventions.    

An International Trade Law Expert and the Deputy Chairman of the Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC), Professor Paul Kuruk, would represent Ghana as the Vice Chair of UNCITRAL.