Africa-Press – Ghana. The maiden edition of the African Diplomacy and Business Dialogue has been slated for September 3, 2025, in Accra, geared towards enhancing trade.
Dubbed the AfDiB 2025, the dialogue will be held at the Association of African Universities (AAU) premises in Accra, on the theme: “Harnessing African Diplomacy for the Success of AfCFTA.”
Hosted by the Accra-based SALT University College (SUC), the primary objective of the dialogue is to facilitate discussions and initiatives to contribute to the vision realisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“It is also expected to foster networking and collaboration among participants from government agencies, diplomatic missions, trade organisations, academic institutions, private businesses, and individual citizens,” a statement issued on Thursday said.
Signed by Madam Elizabeth Adjei, Chairperson, AfDiB 2025 Planning Committee, the statement, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said
The AfCFTA Agreement officially entered into force on May 30, 2019, following its adoption and opening for signatures on March 21, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda.
Impressively, as of February this year, 54 out of the 55 African Union (AU) Member States had already signed the agreement, it said.
Presently, 48 AU Member States have ratified the agreement, demonstrating heightened interest and enthusiasm in the initiative.
It is estimated that by the time all Member States complete the signing and ratification processes, AfCFTA would create a single market for goods and services of approximately 1.4 billion people across Africa, with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion.
Analysts project that a fully functional AfCFTA would significantly boost trade among African countries by removing tariffs on 90 per cent of goods and reducing non-tariff barriers.
This is expected to increase intra-African trade by over 50 per cent in the next few years.
Additionally, it is projected that the AfCFTA would encourage African countries to shift from exporting raw materials to producing and trading value-added goods.
“This will facilitate investment flows to support industrial growth, manufacturing and job creation across sectors such as information technology, agriculture, manufacturing, finance, and tourism,” the statement indicated.
Professor Lord Mawuko Yevugah, Associate Professor of Political Economy and International Relations at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), would be the Keynote Speaker, it said.
The panel discussion is expected to include Dr Emmanuel Del-Tumi, Executive Director, Africa Future Leaders Institute of Global Affairs, and Ms Helen Appiah-Ampofo, Broadcast Journalist, TV3.
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