Government engages WTO on investment code

The CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Yofi Grant, has said the country has begun negotiations with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and World Economic Forum for a standardised investment facilitation code.

With the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it is imperative for the continent to push through a single investment framework, he said.

He added that there is also growing support for an international framework to facilitate investment for sustainable development.

“The negotiations have started; every country is negotiating its position. I am happy to say that from the Ghanaian standpoint, we would be happy [to have] an investment framework that works for all of us, but it should never be binding on any country.”

As African countries integrate as part of the AfCFTA, they are expected to increase efficiency-seeking as well as market-seeking foreign direct investments (FDI).

Investment facilitation is broadly conceived as an international framework of non-controversial, technical measures that can increase the quantity and quality of investment.

Since virtually all economies both receive and export investment capital, investment facilitation has the potential to benefit all economies.

Furthermore, given that developing and least-developed countries often lack the capacity to attract FDIs—and that FDI is often their largest source of finance—investment facilitation is particularly important for these countries.

GIPC has set a target of attracting at least US$3bn in foreign direct investment (FDI) this year as part of the country’s post-Covid recovery strategy.

Last year, the centre registered FDI projects worth US$2.65 billion, an increase of 139 percent over the US$1.11 billion registered in 2019.

The trend defied the anticipated steep decline in the value of registered FDI projects as COVID-19 related.