Develop services trade sector - Minister

Accra, June 19, GNA - Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister of Trade, Industry, PSD and PSI, on Thursday said Ghana needed to develop policies geared towards the diversification of its export portfolio and said the services trade was one area where this could be achieved.

"It is imperative that we harness and leverage this strategic resource to achieve competitive advantage in the export of professional services. We would have to assess the strategic options available to us in terms of penetration into the global market," he said told a workshop in Accra on National Services Export Strategy.

He noted that services trade accounted for over 70 per cent of employment in developed countries and 35 per cent in developing countries, while the share of services in Gross Domestic Product had grown from 65 to 72 and 45 to 52 per cent in developed and developing countries respectively.

World services trade had also tripled to 2.4 trillion dollars despite the fact that developing countries services exports had grown at an average annual rate of eight per cent compared to six per cent in developed countries.

Services trade involves undertaking a service or project in Ghana and sending it out to clients in another country or a Ghanaian visiting a country to undertake a service.

The area is not popular with Ghanaians because the nature of services trade makes it "invisible".

The Minister said the emergence of India, Singapore and other Asian economies, as powerhouse in business outsourcing, was enough proof of the urgency for Ghana to raise its export of non-traditional services. Papa Owusu-Ankomah said Asia's share of services exports had increased over the years though export shares of Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa had been stagnant. "This raises the question as to how other developing countries such as Ghana can take advantage of the sector's potential to grow their share in services trade."

He said government would remove all barriers, inhibiting the progress of associations, individuals and firms interested in exporting services.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah said to ensure successful implementation of the strategy needed all and sundry on board to complement government's effort. "I urged all the financial institutions to roll out flexible and tailor made financial products needed to ensure that this dream comes into fruition," he said.

Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance, said the Ministry had created stable macro economy for businesses to flourish. He said the national strategy would serve as a blueprint for the development and promotion of Ghana's export to grow the economy into a middle-income country.

"The Ministry of Finance will play a cardinal role in the implementation of this laudable project," the Minister said. He said the national strategy had been designed to be a practical document to guide implementation of a comprehensive programme to promote, develop and support the services export sector. The focus would largely centre on the non-traditional services export, which has showed signs of favourable opportunities. 19 June 08