President Nana Akufo-Addo has been courting the Togolese President, Faure Gnassingbé, to allow a 24-hour opening of the Ghana-Togo border.
Currently, the border is closed at 10:00pm each day, hampering the easy movement of goods and services between the two countries and other countries within the sub-region.
The President made the proposal to Faure Gnassingbé at a state dinner held in his honour on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. “I am fully committed, and I know President Faure Gnassingbé is too.
With West Africa’s population set to reach some 500 million people in 20 years time, there are immense opportunities to bring prosperity to our region with enterprise and creativity. The time for West African integration is now. Ghana and Togo should take the lead in converting ECOWAS into a true regional market, and indeed, in helping to facilitate the wider efforts at continental integration and unity.”
“A functional common regional market in ECOWAS has to be a very fundamental objective of all our people and governments of the region. It is for this reason that I am very much for the 24 hour opening of the borders between our two countries.”
The President said such a move will also “boost trade and tourism and we can reap the economic benefits.” “The opening of our borders will give true meaning to the ECOWAS protocols on free movement of goods and services. It will spur on progress and prosperity for our people.”
These protocols, the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS), is the main ECOWAS operational tool for promoting the West Africa region as a Free Trade Area.
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