The 2019 Annual Borderless Alliance Conference is expected to take place in Accra from 24th to 26th April, 2019 where manufacturers, policy-makers, transporters, business owners and other key stakeholders will deliberate on issues concerning trade and transport facilitation in the West African sub-region.

In the year 2018, the annual Borderless Alliance Conference was held in the Malian capital Bamako.

The three-day conference, which is expected to facilitate Intra-Regional Trade in West Africa seeks to remind policy and decision makers of important issues affecting trade facilitation within West Africa.

At a press conference in Accra ahead of the main conference, the President of Borderless Alliance National Committee for Ghana, Ziad Hamoui, said the 8th conference will place more emphasis on the need to experience robust growth in trade on the continent due to the adoption of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement by the African Union.

“We need to show, that for example, Ghana is improving its competitiveness in trade and transport as well as improving its infrastructure. Then, it would be able to reap the benefits of this regional integration,” he revealed.

Ziad Hamoui was of the view that Africa can become a major industry hub only if movement of goods and services and their associated challenges were addressed, hence the conference will create the platform for the about 1,000 business leaders, policy-makers and key stakeholders in the value chain across the Sub-region to discuss the challenges and offer lasting solutions to them.

“We expect mainly manufacturers, producers, association representatives, port authorities, transporters, trade unions, and foreign expertise coming in from our network of partners. It is a unique melting point where everyone would be talking about trade facilitation and how to do business,” he added.

The conference will also examine key issues in regional trade links such as border crossing procedures, road regulations and port procedures, as well as updates on current trade and transport policies that foster intra-regional trade.

Registration for the 2019 Borderless Alliance Conference slated for the 24th to 26th April in Ghana is ongoing and interested stakeholders are invited.