Kenyan leader William Ruto and his Botswana counterpart Gideon Boko have held talks in the Ghanaian capital Accra hours after witnessing Tuesday’s investiture of President John Mahama following his election last month.
The Ruto and Boko talks revolved around issues regarding intra-African trade and implementing the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the future of the African Union Commission.
This comprises the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and guarantees a market of 700 million people.
”Alongside the proposed African Union reforms, this free trade area will unlock Africa’s potential, expand opportunities, alleviate poverty and leverage shared prosperity” Ruto wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
According to the Kenyan leader, his Botswana counterpart also promised to back Raila Odinga’s bid to become the next African Union Commission chairperson.
Ruto also met the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Wamkele Mene, in Accra, with whom regional integration and investment in the continent were discussed.
”The intra-African trade’s potential will only be realised when all parties create a conducive environment for businesses to incubate and flourish” Ruto said.
