The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has committed to revitalizing the Free-trade Agreement among Commonwealth nations if elected as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
She emphasized that a successful free-trade agreement would foster integration, global and regional supply chain participation, and enhance engagement in the multilateral trading system for member states.
Speaking in Accra at a lecture titled “A Vision for a New Commonwealth in a Fast-Evolving World,” organized by the Council on Foreign Relations Ghana, Madam Botchwey proposed that the initiative could serve as a model for WTO members, offering a balanced approach to regional and multilateral trade integration.
Nominated by President Akufo-Addo on February 2, 2024, for the post of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Madam Botchwey outlined the evolving global landscape, citing advanced negotiations between the United Kingdom and India, as well as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as opportunities to consolidate agreements towards a Commonwealth-wide free trade agreement.
“To be transformative, any such trade and development agreement has to respond to the development needs and challenges of the developing countries in the Commonwealth,” she said.
She stressed the importance of any trade and development agreement addressing the needs of developing countries within the Commonwealth.
Madam Botchwey called for increased aid for trade disbursements to boost productive capacity, encouraging developed members to invest in developing states, with specific consideration for the Pacific Island States, the Caribbean, and small states in both service and non-service sectors.
“Developed Commonwealth members and other donor partners should maintain and enhance non-reciprocal preferential market access mechanisms like duty-free, quota-free, flexible rules of origin, and preferential treatment for services and service suppliers from small developing states to facilitate their integration in regional and global value chains,” she said.
Madam Botchwey urged developed Commonwealth members to maintain and enhance preferential market access mechanisms for small developing states.
She emphasized the Commonwealth’s role in supporting the specific needs of small island states in fishery subsidy negotiations at the WTO, highlighting the critical role of ocean sustainability for their development.
“The Commonwealth should support the specific needs and concerns of small island states in fishery subsidy negotiations at the WTO.”
“Ocean sustainability in general and sustainable fishing stocks and practices are critical to the development of the ocean economy in island states and especially to the millions of mostly poor people who make their living by fishing.”
Additionally, she underscored the significance of services like health insurance, medical data, and banking in fostering integration and creating economic prosperity within the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth, consisting of 56 nations, focuses on shared goals of prosperity, democracy, and peace, with the Commonwealth Secretariat coordinating much of its work.
Objectives include environmental protection, sustainable resource use, economic development, democracy support, and assistance to small states in addressing unique challenges.