Ghana will from May 17 to 18 host the 13th edition of the World Trade Promotion Organisation Conference (WTPO) in Accra.

The conference will be held on the theme: “Bold Solutions for Resilience and Recovery."

The event, to be jointly organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and the International Trade Centre (ITC), will be attended by all 57 Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) member countries.

With the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a guide, the event will outline and celebrate how trade and investment organisations address business survival and competitiveness, and support trade-led growth, while serving their communities and protecting the planet.

Mrs. Pamela Coke Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), noted that the time had come for TPOs to increase their efforts in supporting businesses as they recovered from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said: “We are in a situation with rise in inflation, fuel cost is high. There are disruptions in the supply chain, and there is a huge mental block in terms of what constitutes themselves and where to go.”

She added that: “Every day, we see the impact of climate change and what that it's going to be for migration and other crises around the world,” noting that TPOs played important role in the economic success of nations.”

Mrs. Hamilton said this when she briefed the media about the event on Friday.

She noted that the disruptions caused by the pandemic to global economies required that TPOs programme their activities to ensure that trade bounced back in order to build back the world economy.

She also said that TPOs formed the basis of the development of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and when SMEs are linked to them, they were able to “export three times than any other.”

“It also allows twice in terms of the likelihood to innovate and create new products if they are linked to their TPOs because they get access, get information, and have a system that works for them,” the ITC Executive Director added.

Dr. Afua Asabea Darko, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEPA, also said TPOs offered very practical programmes, which supported SMEs businesses to connect to the international market.

She explained that in the midst of economic recovery, it is important for businesses and countries to form stronger synergies, which always resulted in powerful outcomes.

She said that: “At the time when many businesses have suffered due to the pandemic, it is important for us to look at how new allegiances can support our economies towards sustainable trade and help smaller businesses navigate their way and improve their resilience to the shocks that we have all seen.”

Dr. Darko emphasised that: “As we emerge from this pandemic, we must share what many businesses do to make our work resilient and successful.”

Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Information Minister, also noted that lives all over the world had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and climate change.

He, therefore, said: “If trade is going to get back to where we all want it to be; so that for example, for us here in Ghana to produce more for export, earn more in quality of life of the average Ghanaian, we require both solutions for resilience and recovery…”