The Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Wamkele Keabetswe Mene, has presented his credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway at the her office in Accra on Monday.

Mr Wamkele Mene, who is from South Africa, was elected as the first Secretary General (SG) of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and was sworn-in on 19 March 2020, for a four-year mandate. The AfCFTA aims to boost intra-African trade by providing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement among the member states, covering trade in goods, services, investment, intellectual property rights and competition policy.

The Secretary General is expected to provide leadership and technical support to the AfCFTA Secretariat and overall management of the day-to-day management of the AfCFTA Secretariat, implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and strategic collaboration; stakeholders’ engagement; and resources mobilization for the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement.

Receiving the sec gen to her office, Shirley Botchwey emphasised and stressed on the importance of the trade institution in Africa, noting that this is one of the key things on the African agenda of self reliance. She said it was imperative for Africa to make history going forward, which incidentally falls on the sec gen to ensure.

The foreign minsiter said govt was committed to making sure the ACTCA Project works and assured the Sec Gen that her ministry would do more than necessary to ensure it succeeds.

For his part, Wamkele Mene pledged to ensure the smooth operations of the secretariat, while thanking all for the opportunity.

The AfCFTA Secretariat Building in the central business district of Ghana’s capital, Accra was officially commissioned and handed over to the African Union by the president of Ghana on Monday,