Panellists at a forum on trade and development in Africa have again stressed South-South cooperation to break the continuing North-South dependency development paradigm.
Ghana’s President John Agyekum, who contributed to a panel discussion on Monday, said a new development partnership must also capitalise on the growing South-South trade and economic integration process.
The panel discussion was on “Trade and Development for Africa’s Prosperity: Action and Direction” on the second day of the 12th Session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Accra.
More than 4,000 delegates made up of heads of state, trade ministers from 193-member countries and civil society groups are attending.
Kufuor also said there as the need for a new partnership deal on aid, trade, investment and technology between Africa and its development partners.
He said this must be underpinned by a shared goal of supporting African countries to secure financial assistance for development and trade infrastructure.
It was also to gain flexible and differential treatment in trade agreements, attract increased investment on conditions that promoted growth of domestic enterprises and secure access to appropriate technology for industrialization, Kufuor said.
Kufuor said addressing the multiple development challenges facing Africa also required ensuring a stronger Africa-UN partnership.
He said reinforcing and strengthening of relations between Africa and the world body would enable the UN system to increase and sustain the contribution it was making to promote the development aspirations of Africa and other developing countries.
Kufuor said in Africa this must start with regional integration as the foundations for a continental union.
“From Sao Paulo to Accra, we must not miss the opportunity to help bring about meaningful change in our time to make the world a better place for the peoples we serve,” he added.
