Ghana’s progress towards enhancing trade and economic integration was highly touted at the 4th Marrakesh Parliamentary Dialogue which took place in the touristic Moroccan city on 19th and 20th June, 2026.
Addressing the highly patronized Forum, the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, positioned Ghana as the ideal convergence point for African, Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regional businesses.
“Ghana has a strategic advantage which positions the country to boost both intra and inter-regional trade. Not only is Ghana positioned at the center of the world, its location on the West African coast also offers a natural gateway to both landlocked Sahelian states and global shipping lines”, Speaker Bagbin declared.
He extolled the country’s stable political environment, improving transport infrastructure, and expanding port facilities in Tema and Takoradi as further competitive advantages that must attract the attention of international businesses.
According to him, the Ghana Government has been deliberate in aligning its industrialization and export diversification strategies. He disclosed that the country’s transition to a 24-hour economy will ensure continuous production, trade facilitation and global competitiveness.
The Speaker urged various regional economic blocs to go beyond intra-regional integration to build inter-regional partnerships for enhanced trade and expansion of economic opportunity for mutual profit.
“We must move beyond building regional economic silos to constructing formidable relationships across regions especially within the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf states”, Rt. Hon. Bagbin advised.
The Marrakech Economic Parliamentary Forum is a leading platform for parliamentary dialogue which brings together high placed policymakers, civil society and academics within Africa, the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions to dialogue on economic growth and integration. The Fourth Edition of the Forum was organized by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and the House of Councillors of the Kingdom of Morocco, in partnership with the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Forum addressed critical regional challenges and strategic opportunities through four thematic panels. The discussions were geared toward confronting today’s most pressing global economic challenges, including public debt and trade impediments; investment in Artificial Intelligence and the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf AI Hub; ways of stimulating sustainable job creation through the strategic development of regional incubators and the Blue Economy sector as well as the far-reaching impact of climate change on food security.
Speaking as Moderator of a Special Session of a Forum dedicated to Africa, Rt. Hon. Bagbin explained that the Government of Ghana has designed a Policy framework and action plan for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as well as a National Export Development Strategy (NEDS) to help revitalise the country’s export development efforts with a strong focus on Africa’s over 1.3 billion consumer market.
According to him, the action plan provides guidelines for mainstreaming the implementation of AfCFTA through value-addition to exports, developing capacity to effectively compete with imports and expansion of opportunities for job creation.
On the sidelines of the Forum, the Speaker held bilateral meetings with colleague Speakers of the United Arab Emirates, Niger and the President of the Moroccan House of Councilors.
