Uganda Airlines in partnership with the Uganda Tourism Board, the Uganda High Commission in Ghana, have held aa successful Ghana- Uganda Business Forum to explore business matchmaking and partnership under the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA framework.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a free trade agreement created by the African Union to form a single, continent-wide market for goods and services across 54 participating African nations.
It is the largest free trade area in the world by the number of participating countries, covering a market of over 1.4 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of roughly $3.4 trillion.
This legal framework is meant to eliminate tariffs on 90% of goods and reduce non-tariff barriers (like border delays and red tape.)
AfCFTA is further designed to boost intra-African trade, industrialization, and regional value chains; and support the free movement of business people and investments.
While addressing the Ghana-Uganda Business Forum held at Accra Marriott Hotel,under the theme: “Leveraging Air Connectivity for Trade, Tourism, Investment and Economic Cooperation,” Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport , Fred Byamukama, said that the Entebbe–Accra service directly addresses the challenge of connectivity on the continent by providing a scheduled air link between East and West Africa.
“It creates new opportunities for businesspeople, tourists, investors and families, while strengthening the practical connections between two countries that share a common interest in Africa’s prosperity,” Byamukama stated .
Byamukama, however ,hastened to add that infrastructure alone cannot deliver the full promise of connectivity, and the member states must also address the policy and administrative barriers that make it difficult for Africans to travel within Africa.
For too long, Byamukama noted ,Africans have faced restrictions when travelling to other African countries, sometimes encountering more obstacles than they would when travelling beyond the continent.
Such barriers limit personal interaction, discourage business and tourism, and undermine our collective ambition for integration.
“Initiatives such as the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aim to reduce barriers, expand economic opportunities, and strengthen links between African markets.
However, these initiatives will succeed only with effective implementation, including improved air links, a more enabling operating environment for airlines, and policies that facilitate cross-border movement of people and goods,” he stressed.
Byamukama pledged Uganda’s commitment to support air travel on gthe African continent by strengthening the national carrier, Uganda Airlines, and expand its capacity to connect Uganda with other African markets and link the continent to the rest of the world.
Government officials, business leaders, investors, exporters, and tourism stakeholders from both Uganda and Ghana, including Uganda Airlines Acting CEO and Consultant Girma Wake attended the colourful event .
Uganda Ailines now has 4 scheduled flights per week between Entebbe (EBB) and Accra (ACC) via Lagos (LOS) using a Boeing 737-800.
Acting CEO Girma Wake noted that daily cargo volumes on the route are projected to reach 15 to 20 tonnes within a year, boosting West and Central African export markets for East African agricultural producers.
