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Ghana has been selected as the country to host the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ghana was awarded the right based on regional balance formula on Saturday by a review committee.

Six other countries had submitted their bids to host the secretariat which Ghana won. They were: Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal.

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The secretariat’s primary mandate will be the implementation the agreement, which has been ratified by 25 countries, according to the African Union.

The announcement came as the African Union launched the operational phase of the AfCFTA at an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Niamey, Niger.

The bloc aims to ultimately remove trade barriers and tariffs between members.

The UN’s Economic Commission for Africa estimates that the agreement has the potential to boost intra-Africa trade by 53%.

Meanwhile, the AU Commission’s Commissioner for Trade and Industry Ambassador Albert Muchanga announced that Benin had agreed to sign the AfCFTA agreement during the Extraordinary Summit thereby becoming the 54th signatory state.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, has also announced it will sign the agreement, a statement from President Mahammadu Buhari said.

Eritrea is the only African Union member state not to have signed the agreement.

The African Union says if all countries signed up it would become the largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization.

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