Rwandan President Paul Kagame congratulates Ghana

Rwandan President, Paul Kagame has expressed his endorsement and congratulated Ghana as the country selected to host the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Ghana was on Saturday, July 6, 2019, selected as the country to host the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

A review committee said the West African nation was awarded the right based on regional balance formula.

Ghana beat six other countries which had submitted their bids to host the secretariat. They were: Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal.

In an official Facebook post on Sunday sighted by MyNewsGh.com, President Paul Kagame wrote “I agree with the proposal of the Executive Council designating Ghana as our choice to host the AfCFTA Secretariat. I congratulate them as well. Our task now is to finalise the remaining negotiations and operational instruments in a timely manner.”

He further congratulated the President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou for playing an instrumental role in reaching this height of strengthening trade in Africa.

The secretariat’s primary mandate will be the implementation of the agreement, which has been ratified by 25 countries, according to the African Union.

The announcement of Ghana as the country to host the secretariat came as the African Union launched the operational phase of the AfCFTA at an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Niamey, Niger.