ACCRA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has urged African leaders to take steps to accelerate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agenda to make its impact benefit current and future generations.
Opoku-Ageymang made the call during the 2025 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD), an annual conference seeking to collate ideas on how to use continental free trade to achieve economic integration and prosperity, which opened in the Ghanaian capital of Accra Thursday.
The vice president said working closer to accelerate the continental free trade agenda will also speed up the economic and political integration of the continent. "Integration is not just a theoretical concept. It is a lifeline to our collective future. By breaking down barriers and creating a single market, we can unlock immense opportunities, create jobs for our youth, and lift millions out of poverty."
She said the single market presents a transformative opportunity for Africa's economic growth, driven by innovation and entrepreneurship while connecting people and markets.
"I call on all of us as leaders to embrace, champion, and expand the initiative because the success of the single market depends on our collective will and decisive action," Opoku-Ageymang said. "As we engage in today's sessions, I encourage all of us to collaborate, to exchange ideas, and to push Africa closer to a fully integrated market."
The APD is a three-day event organized by the Africa Prosperity Network, a continent-wide think tank and the secretariat of the AfCFTA. This year, about 4,000 people participated both in person and online. ■