ECOWAS Trade Fair ends

Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, on Monday called on the Customs and Immigration Officers to provide good quality monitoring system to reduce the delays at the border posts.

He said African countries should come together to ensure the implementation of the common external tariffs as well as the trade liberalisation scheme to ensure free transport of goods in the sub region.

Nii Lantey made the call during the closing ceremony of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) 12-day trade Fair held in Accra with a theme �Regional Integration Through Trade.

The fair was to promote the development of trade among ECOWAS member states, to stimulate increased production of goods and services in the community.

It was also to promote co-operation between enterprises, encourage the creation of regional production units, develop appropriate technology with the resources available in the region and acquire modern technology from outside the region.

He commended the ECOWAS Commission for implementing policies and regulations geared towards promoting regional integration and making the private sector the engine of growth.

Mr Felix Kwakye, Customs Specialist of ECOWAS, said the Fair created room for business-to-business interactions and brought together various actors in the value chain development of the three key products in the region such as cashew, shea butter and fertilizer.

He added that the ECOWAS Commission also used the Fair to present the community and its institutions to participants by organizing a workshop on the theme of the fair.

Mr Kwakye stated that the fair brought together 600 exhibitors from 11 member states and outside the region.

He gave the assurance that �the Commission will continue to work with member states and stakeholders to improve knowledge of the various ECOWAS protocols on the free movement of goods and persons with a view to ensuring that our people are able to move freely in West African country�.

Source: GNA