West African nations must protect their markets - Amissah-Arthur

Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur on Thursday made a case for countries in the West African Sub-region to protect their markets from undue foreign invasion in order to make local manufacturing industries to thrive.

Against a backdrop of economic history, countries in the sub-region had been engaging in primary production at the turn of the 20th century. The Vice President noted that efforts to engage more in industrial and manufacturing production have be drawn back by the influx of goods mainly from the East.

The Vice President made the suggestion when he met some students of the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business Africa Group, who called on him at the Flagstaff House in Accra.

The group on a two-nation African tour of Ghana and Ethiopia was in the country to study the economic success stories of the two nations in recent years. Vice President Amissah-Arthur noted that Ghana, in addition to the production of primary goods, was moving into manufacturing and industrial production as well as into the petroleum industry.

Ghana was also doing well in the service industry; the Vice President said and invited investors to take advantage of the good conditions to make Ghana a preferred investment destination.

He stressed value addition to goods from Ghana to have a larger market in Europe. He described the students as leaders of business and industry in the next decade and stressed stronger cooperation between Ghana and the USA for mutual economic returns.

The Vice President urged the students to tell Ghana’s success story abroad, adding that; “the opportunities here are very great.”