AfCFTA: Ghana to implement visa-free access for all Africans this year

The Government of Ghana has initiated steps to roll out a visa-free policy for all Africans starting this year.

The initiative is to facilitate trade among Africa Union (AU) members under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area banner.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo speaking at the 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogue held at Peduase in the Eastern Region of Ghana, said visas have become major barriers to the full realisation of the AfCFTA. “I know many of you had to acquire a visa to attend this event……. the Government of Ghana is committed to ensuring visa-free access for all Africans travelling into our country, and the process has begun to implement the policy this year,” President Akufo-Addo said.

The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, the African Union’s long-term development strategy for transforming the continent into a global powerhouse.

As part of its mandate, the AfCFTA is to eliminate trade barriers and boost intra-Africa trade. In particular, it is to advance trade in value-added production across all service

sectors of the African Economy.

The AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The overall mandate of the AfCFTA is to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately US$ 3.4 trillion. The Africa Prosperity Dialogues, organized by the Africa Prosperity Network in partnership with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat and the Government of Ghana, among others, serves as a dedicated platform that brings together Africa and Global Africa’s business executives and organizations, thought leaders, and political leaders to think together, plan together, and work together with the needed urgency to drive the goal of building the world’s largest single market in Africa.

The Africa Prosperity Dialogues was adopted by the African Union on February 19, 2023, by its supreme policy and decisionmaking organ, as an important instrument for mobilizing private sector ownership and drive of the continent’s all-important AfCFTA project.