The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has advocated some strategic measures to reposition and transform the economic fortunes of Commonwealth States.
The Minister, who is also a candidate for the position of Commonwealth Secretary-General, among other things called for free-trade among Commonwealth countries.
In sharing her “vision for a New Commonwealth in a Fast-evolving World”, she noted that policymakers struggle with policies to raise growth in isolation thus the need to foster better economic frameworks for development.
Madam Botchwey therefore proposed to “revive the idea of having a free-trade agreement among Commonwealth countries”, leveraging on advanced negotiations between UK and India, the conclusion of free trade agreements between the UK and several Commonwealth members states, as well as the AfCFTA, if she is elected as Secretary General.
“Across the Commonwealth, policymakers struggle with policies to raise growth in isolation, through austerity and high taxes. The pie is simply not capable of feeding everyone unless consumer-based market expansion considers the potential of our 2.5 billion population. This requires that we re-envision a framework for Commonwealth trade to end the stagnation that is widespread across our countries, surpassing the potential $2 trillion trade within the Commonwealth,” she said in a lecture.
She was speaking at the 5th Anniversary of the Council on Foreign Relations in Accra on Friday, February 2, 2024.
The Foreign Affairs Minister also unveiled five other key areas to reposition and transform the economies of the countries in the Commonwealth including;
- Youth, Education, Skills, Innovation and Start Ups
- Mobility and Labour Markets
- Climate Change, Small states, and
- Managing resources for an Effective Commonwealth Institution
Regarding, the youth and education, she mentioned that “closing the Commonwealth’s digital gap in health, education, and trade; building the digital infrastructure to boost connectivity within and between Commonwealth countries should be the way forward” especially with advances in ICT, automation and AI and the innovations of social media for distance learning.
Responding to the climate crisis and challenges of Small States, she encouraged the Commonwealth to put a special lens on small states and aim to build resilience and promote inclusive development in these vulnerable economies.
Madam Ayorkor Botchwey again pointed out that the Commonwealth Secretariat cannot be a viable vehicle for transformation if it is treated as a consulting agency.
she opined that “it must be supported as a strong and independent multilateral organisation that can count on adequate and predictable core funding, on a consistent basis. As Secretary General, I will work with member countries to stabilise the Commonwealth’s finances. An ambitious Commonwealth should be funded at comparative levels as other multilateral organizations. Together with a more credible Programme resource envelope, it is time to review the human resourcing and budget of the Secretariat.”
She concluded that If the Commonwealth wishes to meet the ambitions of its citizens, then member states need a development cooperation framework that works for all the Commonwealth as a community.