LONDON, (The Southern African Times) – As African countries continue to break the ground for trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, Ghana and Rwanda are looking to increase trade, tourism and investments with each other.
A delegation of 30 officials from Ghana’s sectors of tourism, trade and investment are currently in Rwanda on a 6-day visit, where they will meet with officials from both the government and private sector, as they seek to explore opportunities in which the two countries can partner.
“We want Ghana and Rwanda to work more closely in areas of business and tourism. We really want to take a lot from Rwanda back to Ghana, and also bring a lot from Ghana to Rwanda,” said Bella Ahu, the President of Ghana Tourism Federation, who is one of the officials making up the Ghanaian delegation.
“The free-trade area is actually opening the doors wider for us to come together and put business together, so we are happy we are here. We want to see what we can do together. We want to know the needs of Rwanda and provide for them, and at the same time, we also want to see how Rwanda can provide what is needed in Ghana,” she added.
On Monday, March 15, the delegates paid a visit to the Ghanaian consulate in Kigali where they were among other things where Denis Karera, the Consul of Ghana to Rwanda, took them through information regarding ease of doing business in Rwanda, the Covid-19 recovery plan for affected businesses, among other things.
Speaking to media after his meeting with the delegates, Karera said he thinks their journey will culminate into good cooperation between the two countries in areas of investment, tourism and trade.
He said such trips are one of the ways that Ghana and Rwanda can promote themselves in regard to the AfCFTA.
“Some of the basic things we are doing include trips like this, so that we can bring together people. Trade is people,” he said.
“For me as one who is representing Ghana here in Rwanda, I have a goal of trying to attract to Rwanda as many Ghanaians with capacity to contribute in various ways. And the Rwandan High Commission in Ghana does the same thing,” he said.
Zeroing in on tourism, he said: “There is high tourism potential between Rwanda and Ghana. The tourism products we have in Rwanda are not known to them and what they have in Ghana is not known to us. They are going to meet the chief tourism officer at Rwanda Development Board, and they will learn more about the tourism products available in the country. They will be looking at how they can invest in these, or how to establish partnerships.”
