Ghana has begun moves to access funding support allocated for developing countries implementing the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.

This fund seeks to help in addressing some funding challenges with regards to the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which was ratified by the country recently.

Speaking at the Conference on the Ghana National Single Window and WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremanteng noted Ghana will be accessing the funds available from the WTO to support government’s effort in implementation.

“We will redouble our efforts in export development and will use the advent of the WTO agreement to develop a truly open, transparent and dynamic trading economy in our country," he said.

“In addition to the positive impact on competitiveness and employment growth, this will make Ghana more attractive to foreign investment as transparency, predictability, time and cost are the key factors in the location decisions of export-oriented businesses” he added.

He, therefore, called on the WTO to make adequate funds available to support Ghana in the implementation process.  

The WTO estimates that the agreement will generate over $1 trillion benefit annually to developing nations Ghana is one of the first countries to ratify the World Trade Organisation’s, WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement through the introduction of measures that seeks to reduce bureaucracies at the ports of entry.

The agreement is also aimed at reducing trade barriers among member nations of the WTO as well as making trading through the ports flexible.

On her part, Chief Executive of West Blue Consult, an implementing agency under the agreement, Valentina Mintah disclosed in an interview that besides the financial support, Ghana will also need technical support from the WTO.

The conference under theme, Single Window and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement-Key tools for trade development, was attended by Ports officials from the West African sub-region among others.