Adopt French language to deepen formal trade ties – Akufo-Addo urges Ghanaians

•Ghanaians have been urged to take up learning of the French language

•This, president Akufo-Addo believes will deepen trade ties among African countries

•He said this during an interview with the French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Ave on the Touch of France show

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Ghanaians to take up learning of the French language in order to deepen trade ties among African countries.

This he believes is vital towards the implementation of the free trade pact for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement with Ghana already selected as the host secretariat.

In an interaction with the French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Ave on the Touch of France show, President Akufo-Addo explained this was necessary to encourage bilingualism between Ghana and its neighbours.

“As a necessary consequence, the language will have to be a determinant of that [trade] and it will be a very important incident of our capacity to trade effectively,” President Akufo-Addo said on the show.

“As the trade becomes more and more formalised, I think the necessity for both sides; both the French people and the English-speaking people to be able to exchange information in the languages that they speak is going to be almost irresistible,” he added.

Meanwhile, there are some 29 countries in Africa that speak French as their official language.

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