加纳东部阿索格利州的国王大酋长（Agbogbomefia），迦纳术略集团主席、阿克拉世界贸易中心执行主席十四世·托比·阿菲德阁下（Togbe Afede XIV）断言，非洲目前是全球最具吸引力的商业目的地。

十四世·托比·阿菲德阁下（Togbe Afede XIV）

第53届世界贸易中心（WTC）协会峰会在阿克拉举行，主题为：“迈向非洲经济一体化和加强全球影响力”，十四世·托比·阿菲德阁下强调，非洲拥有成为全球粮食安全支柱的资源和能力，因此世界需要将注意力转移到非洲大陆。

他补充说，随着非洲大陆自由贸易区（AfCFTA）为非洲内部贸易打开大门，并消除迄今为止使商品和服务难以在非洲大陆交换的所有贸易壁垒，工业化将蓬勃发展，经济将增长，投资者将获得良好的回报。

托比阁下说，这也将使非洲大陆成为最具吸引力的商业目的地。

“我想向世界保证，非洲值得访问、参与和商业贸易。但让我提醒你，非洲很容易上瘾，你可能会沉迷于留下来，永远不会离开。

“非洲是一个资源丰富的大陆，包括石油、矿产和农业耕地等。不幸的是，多年来专门从事初级材料出口并没有帮助 - 因为其他国家可以享受这些原材料附加值的好处。

“但商业的时机已经成熟，因为非洲大陆自由贸易区为非洲大陆的自由贸易打开了大门，并随之释放了商品和其他生产要素的流动。” 托比阁下说。

托比阁下补充说，非洲正在实现其目标的征程中：非洲的年轻人口、各国政府正在创造的有利商业生态系统，以及新冠疫情带来的数字化和技术加速支持。

在谈到在此期间困扰非洲大陆的几次挫折时，他说：“非洲存在挑战，但整个非洲大陆的政府都认识到了这些障碍 - 因此建立了非洲自由贸易区大厦，以汇集资源以促进贸易和发展”。

世界贸易中心协会主席 John E. Drew 先生重申，现在是来到非洲的最佳时机，国际社会是时候对非洲大陆的快速转型和变化表现出浓厚的兴趣了。

“这是世贸中心第二次在非洲举行大会，第一次是在七年前的阿尔及利亚。由于非洲在全球粮食安全价值链中发挥着重要作用，早就应该这样做了。

“事实上，非洲现在是全球商业的最佳目的地。因此，这只是与非洲企业建立一系列关系的开始，以通过合作、伙伴关系和特许经营安排扩大影响力，并获得更多的全球影响力。提供技术专业知识，启动直接和间接投资机会以及承购商服务等，为这个时代提供了很多利用的机会。“ E. Drew 先生说。

非洲自由贸易区秘书处秘书长Wamkele Mene 先生表示，非洲目前 80% 以上的商品出口是原材料，控制着不到 3% 的全球贸易，这意味着新产业的增长和发展潜力巨大。

Mene 先生补充说，非洲大陆自由贸易区的实施具有侵略性，这给人们带来了很大的希望，即到10年的时间里，非洲将获得其作为对人类生存至关重要的所有关键资源的家园的合法地位。

“前五大锂生产国在非洲;排名前五的数字支付公司目前在非洲。在没有任何地缘政治考虑的情况下，非洲在全球范围内所扮演的角色是无可争议的。非洲在不同领域提供了许多机会，这将推动工业发展革命，这将使非洲在10年后具有全球竞争力。“ Mene 先生说。

非洲大陆自由贸易区的旅程正在按计划进行;大约 42 种货币使支付和交易变得困难，宏观经济分歧和不同的关税挑战等问题都在无缝贸易中得到解决。

世贸中心53届峰会大会于周一启动，一直持续到上周五（28日），为全球各世贸中心的三百余名代表提供平台，以审议，建立网络和提供旨在整合非洲大陆贸易的解决方案。

AfCFTA Making Africa Most Attractive Business Destination  

The Agbogbomefia of Asogli State and Executive Chairman of World Trade Centre Accra, Togbe Afede XIV, has asserted that Africa is currently the most attractive business destination globally.

Speaking at the 53rd World Trade Centres (WTC) Association General Assembly summit held in Accra on the theme ‘Toward African economic integration and enhanced global presence’, Togbe Afede stressed that Africa has the resources and capacity to be the backbone of global food security – hence the world’s need to shift attention to the continent.

He added that with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) opening the door to intra-African trade and eliminating all the trade barriers which hitherto made it difficult for goods and services to exchange hands on the continent, industrialisation will flourish, economies will grow, and investors will reap good returns.

This, he said, will also make the continent the most attractive destination for business.

“I want to assure the world that Africa is worth visiting, engaging with and business trading; but let me caution you that Africa is very addictive, and you may become addicted to remaining and never leave.

“Africa is a resource-rich continent, ranging from petroleum, minerals and arable land for agriculture among others. Unfortunately, specialising in the export of primary materials over the years has not been helpful – because other countries get to enjoy the benefits of value added to those raw materials.

“But the time is ripe for business as the AfCFTA opens the door to free trade within the continent, and with it freeing-up the movement of merchandise and other factors of production,” he said.

The WTC Accra Chairperson added that Africa is on a journey to fulfil its purpose: backed fully by its youthful population, conducive business ecosystems being created by various governments, and the acceleration of digitisation and technology courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Touching on the several setbacks which have bedevilled the continent over the period, he said: “There are challenges in Africa, but governments all over the continent recognised such hindrances – hence the unity in which the AfCFTA edifice was erected to pull resources together so as to promote trade and development”.

Chairman of the World Trade Centres Association, John E. Drew, reiterated that, indeed, the best time to be in Africa is now; and the global community must take a keen interest in the fast pace of transformation and change on the continent.

“This is the second time WTC is in Africa, with the first time being in Algeria about seven years ago; and this has been long overdue because of the important role Africa plays in the global food security value chain.

“Indeed, Africa is the best destination for business globally now. So, this is just the beginning of a series of relationships with African businesses to expand reach and get more global reach through collaboration, partnership and franchise arrangements. Providing expertise in technology, starting direct and indirect investment opportunities, and off-taker service among others offer a lot of opportunities to take advantage of in this era,” he said.

Secretary General-AfCFTA secretariat, Wamkele Mene, on his part indicated that Africa is currently doing over 80 percent of its commodities export in raw form and controlling less than three percent of global trade, which means there is great potential for growth and development of new industries.

He added that the aggressive nature with which the AfCFTA is being implemented gives much hope that by 10 years’ time Africa will attain its rightful position as the home of all critical resources important for human survival.

“The top-five lithium producers are in Africa; the top-five digital payment-providing firms are currently in Africa. Without any geopolitical consideration, the role Africa plays on the global scale is incontrovertible. Africa offers many opportunities in different sectors which will drive the industrial development revolution that will make Africa globally very competitive 10 years from now,” he said.

He said the AFCTA journey is on course; and the issues of about-42 currencies making payment and transactions difficult, macroeconomic divergence and different tariff challenges are all being addressed for seamless trade.

The WTC 53rd general assembly kick-started on Monday and runs to Friday 28th April, 2023. It is expected to provide a platform for the about-400 delegates from various WTCs globally to deliberate, network and proffer solutions geared toward integrating trade on the continent.

来源：B & FT Online

编译：草语云言

扫码关注迦纳术略微信公众号，每日更新加纳新闻: