The ECOWAS stand at the ongoing 7th Regional Trade in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, has continued to record a large number of visitors expressing interest in the progammes and activities of the regional economic bloc.
The visitors are from various walks of life, including political leaders, diplomats, researchers, students, manufacturers, investors, traders and ordinary citizens.
A statement issued by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said among those who visited the stand on Thursday, which was observed as host country Ghana’s Day, were government officials and Ambassador Claudia Turbay, the Colombian Ambassador to Ghana and 14 other West African countries, and her husband Mr. Gonzalo Moreno.
Ambassador Turbay, who has been in West Africa for just three months, expressed her willingness to establish lasting cooperation between her country and ECOWAS with a view to deepening South-South relations between ECOWAS and the South Pacific region.
In line with the practice since the opening of the two-week Trade Fair on 31 October 2013, visitors to the ECOWAS stand were briefed on the organization’s operations, mission, goals, objectives and the benefits of the biennial regional fair.
ECOWAS officials manning the stand also answered enquiries from the visitors, with most of them collecting publications containing the organization’s various legal instruments, protocols, decisions and statements, as well as copies of the ECOWAS daily bulletin on the Trade Fair.
Speaking during the ceremony to mark the Ghana Day, Mr. Gerald Nyarko-Mensah, Acting Director of Exports at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said some 690 companies, including 20 from outside the ECOWAS region, were participating in the trade event. Most the companies are from the 11 participating ECOWAS countries, while the others are from Egypt, Kenya, Pakistan, Turkey and India.
Nana Kwame Ofori Amanfo, Exhibition Director of the Ghana Trade Fair Company, urged ECOWAS to intensify support to ensure the full and active participation of all Member States in the biennial trade event, as a critical platform for growing intra-community trade and facilitating regional integration and economic development.
Nigeria observed its National Day at the Fair on Wednesday, 6 November 2013. Togo and the Federation of ECOWAS Business Women will take their turns on Friday to be followed by a Business to Business Meeting on Saturday.
The activities will be rounded off with an ECOWAS press conference and an official closing ceremony on Monday, 11 November 2013.
