The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to strengthening South–South trade and cooperation.
She called for a revitalised and development-oriented Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries (GSTP).
She said this during the GSTP Ministerial Meeting, held on the sidelines of the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva.
Addressing Ministers and senior officials from across the developing world, she welcomed the renewed momentum to revive and modernise the GSTP, originally established in 1988 under the auspices of UNCTAD to promote trade preferences among developing nations.
The minister stated that Ghana’s view of the GSTP remains a vital instrument for expanding intra-developing-country trade, investment, and technology exchange, particularly at a time when global trade faces growing uncertainty due to geopolitical tensions, debt pressures, and climate challenges.
“Ghana sees the GSTP as a platform to translate our collective market potential into concrete partnerships for value addition, innovation, and sustainable development,” she said.
She expressed Ghana’s support for a careful and inclusive review of the São Paulo Round outcomes to ensure that future actions reflect today’s global realities and the evolving priorities of developing economies.
She emphasised that the Ministerial dialogue offers an opportunity to consult, assess progress, and chart a pragmatic course toward a revitalised and development-oriented GSTP.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare urged members to integrate digital trade, green industrialisation, and MSME participation into the next phase of the GSTP, calling for targeted technical cooperation from UNCTAD to help developing countries leverage preferential trade opportunities.
Ghana’s participation in the GSTP Ministerial forms part of its broader engagement at UNCTAD XVI, where the country is advocating for fairer trade, deeper regional integration, and technology-driven economic transformation for shared prosperity.
Irene Wirekoaa Osei, ISD
