The Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen has called for enhanced United States investments in strategic sectors in Africa to help develop their economies.
Ghana’s trade minister made the call while speaking at a roundtable between African Trade Ministers, U.S. members of Congress and Ambassador Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, on the sidelines of the ‘U.S. – Africa Leaders’ Summit held in Washington D.C, USA, last week.
The roundtable discussion was on the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which is set to expire in September 2025.
The minister advocated, among others, for greater investment in Agriculture and Agribusiness, oil and gas on the continent.
He also called for more resources to be pumped into the blue ocean economy, light manufacturing industries, and support for the development of infrastructure including roads, rail, port infrastructure and renewable energy.
He said AGOA Preferential Trade Agreement is a unilateral agreement between the United States and sub-Saharan African countries which grants duty-free-quota-free access to the U.S. market for around 1,800 product lines in promoting the economic development of these countries.
“It is also aimed at expediting the integration of African economies into the world trading system while sharpening their productive capacities.
Under AGOA, Ghana has exported garments and textile products, among others, to the US market,” he said.
As part of activities during the conference, the sector minister joined President Akufo-Addo to attend a series of high-profile meetings and events including that with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the President of the World Bank Group.
He also represented the President at the National Black Chamber of Commerce Business Forum as well as the US Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Council on Africa’s Presidential Dialogue all in Washington DC.
