Thread by @aloinett

So this piece is actually about Ghana. A few questions came to mind when I scanned it.

https://twitter.com/Independent/status/1352918405091897346

1. Wondering if this very real situation in UK-Ghana trade was brought up during the UK-Africa Investment Conference earlier this week. I think it's really important that these grand conversations are grounded in reality. Not just exchanging nice words but finding solutions.

2. Compagnie Frutiere @CFUKLimited was mentioned. I found out about them only last week when I initially panicked that the pineapple I bought in Dakar was from Europe. The pineapple was from Cote d'Ivoire but exported by Compagnie Fruitiere. Curious to know more about them.

3. ??? What are the details of this? And how anxious should we be about this kind of behaviour? I hope some of us are not thinking #AfricaTogether on one side while others are thinking #DivideandConquer on another side.

We always say that our regional arrangements make us stronger together with more negotiating power. But I'm seeing a lot of bilateral arrangements left and right and can't clearly see the expected regional power effect. The interaction between regional agreements and bilateral -

arrangements is one that we need to figure out how to manage. The rules have to be clear and action unified or the strongest party will always win. In case you're wondering, individual African countries are not often the "strongest party". But let's try to operationalise it.

If it's true that the UK was bullying Ghanaian exporters (although they said they came to an agreement in December) into doing something that will go against ECOWAS commitments, what could Ghana have done? Who do they complain to? Not the WTO in this case. ECOWAS?