African nations have been urged by their president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to increase trade among themselves.
He claimed that one approach to enable Africans to strengthen the economy of their different nations is through intra-African commerce.
On Thursday, May 25, Mr. Akufo-Addo spoke at the 7th African Leadership Forum's opening ceremony in Accra.
"No country can afford to do it alone, and in Africa, we cannot allow exogenous shocks thousands of miles away to determine our collective fate," he added.
"Africa and Africans must construct their own story; it must be based on what they perceive in themselves, not what they choose to say about them.
"However, if we don't trade, this cannot happen."Africa accounts for only 3 percent of global trade and intra-Africa trade is one of the lowest of any region globally.
“This is largely due to the colonial economic module characterized by small individual economies, fragmented and disconnected regional markets, overreliance on the production export of primary commodities and the presence of low productive capacities which have been in existence for the last century.
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“As the adage goes, there is strength in unity, and for all 54-member states of the African Union, our strength is in our numbers.”