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Bush turns Trade Hub into funfair
Accra, Feb. 20, Ghanadot/GNA – When US President George
Walker Bush and his wife, Laura, inspected a showcase of
eight exporters of the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA)
eligible products in Accra, little did any one expect that
he was going to turn the formal function into a funfair.
Hours before President Bush and his wife arrived on the mini
fair grounds mounted at the premises of the Ghana
International Trade Fair Company, a cross-section of chiefs
and other highly reputed traditional leaders dressed in
colourful apparel from their respective traditional areas
and Ministers of State were seated while the eight exporters
mounted their wares to receive President Bush.
The atmosphere was also characterized by heavy presence of
US security detail and the strict screening process for
local journalists covering the function, until President
Bush and Laura stepped unto the venue dancing to Ghanaian
Adowa drum beat.
Instantly, the otherwise tense atmosphere changed, with
photo journalists running wild to capture the dancing moves
of President Bush with ministers of state and other
dignitaries having a good laugh.
President Bush moved from the dancing to inspect the
exhibits, which included cocoa and cocoa products, wood
carvings and artefacts, shear butter and shear butter
products, kente cloths, cashew and baskets.
But his round of inspection was not without fun and humour,
as he posed for the cameras with the Adowa drum players and
with each of the persons manning the exhibits when he got to
their stand.
President Bush was handed a bar of Kingsbite chocolate and
was challenged to taste it but he refused, saying, “I gave
up on candies long ago and even though I have a candy in
hand I am determined to be a disciplined man.”
To the amazement of everyone present, when President Bush
got to the sheanuts stand, where a lady was pounding the
sheanuts, he took the pestle and pounded the nut for the
cameras.
He also danced with pupils from Kotoka Basic Junior High
School, who sang a special Akwaaba song for him, singing his
name in portions of the song.
President Bush continued his fun when he went round to greet
the chiefs and traditional leaders, sharing very hearty
pleasantries with them.
As if on purpose, he always took a bow when he greeted the
female traditional leaders. A highlight of that session was
the unusually long time he spent with Daasebre Oti Boateng,
Paramount Chief of New Juabeng and former Government
Statistician, who also presented his profile to President
Bush.
President Bush also shared warm and friendly exchanges with
the Ministers of State present and an even deeper fellowship
with Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, former Ghana’s Ambassador to the
United States and Minister of Trade, Industry and PSI, who
is credited for pioneering Ghana’s involvement in the AGOA
initiative.
Miss Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State, who
accompanied President Bush, also attracted a lot of
attention when she arrived on the fair grounds in a separate
entourage.
The eight products exhibited at the fair are just the tip of
the iceberg compared to the several Made-in-Ghana AGOA-eligible
products currently exported from Ghana to the US market.
In 2006 alone, out of a total of US$192 million worth of
exports from Ghana to the US, US$45 million was under AGOA,
a statement of the USAID said.
Under AGOA, thousands of locally made products from at least
21 African countries are exported to the US market under
duty-free, quota-free system. The apparel sector for
instance benefits from a duty-free cost advantage of 33 per
cent.
To assist businesses wishing to take advantage of AGOA,
USAID created four trade hubs, headquartered in Ghana, Dakar
, Nairobi and Gaborone to provide technical assistance to
would-be exporters and resources to regional governments to
improve the climate for trade.
“From 2005-2007, the trade hub facilitated more than US$16
million in exports, as well as US$3 million in investments,”
the USAID said.
GNA
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