An eight-day fair to showcase the economic potential of the Eastern Region, especially in the area of trade, tourism and investment, has been launched at Koforidua in the Eastern Region.
The fair, which would be held on the theme: "Unlocking Opportunities for Sustainable Trade, Tourism and Investment" would commence from September 26 to October 3 this year.
All the 33 municipal and district assemblies are expected to showcase their economic and trade potentials at the fair dubbed "Eastern Expo 2026.”
To this end, the region has been divided into five blocks, namely the Kwahu, Akyem, Krobo, Akuapem and the New Juaben, with each block allotted different days to exhibit their economic and trade potential.
Idea
Launching the fair last Tuesday, the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, said the Eastern Region Coordinating Council, in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, came out with the idea of the fair not merely as an annual exhibition but as a regional launchpad for local economic development.
She stated that it would serve as a strategic platform to showcase opportunities, attract investments and prepare the region's businesses to operate competitively with others in the local and international markets.
The Expo, Mrs Awatey explained, was a deliberate intervention aimed at promoting enterprise development, attracting investment, strengthening strategic partnerships and accelerating the region's development.
Private sector
The regional minister indicated that it was therefore necessary for the private sector development partners, financial institutions, tourists, entrepreneurs and investors to work together in unlocking the untapped potential that exists in the region.
She further stressed that some of Ghana’s most iconic tourism assets such as the Boti Falls, Aburi Botanical Gardens, Kwahu Mountains, Akosombo Dam, the Tallest Tree at Akim Oda were just few among many eco-tourism sites in the region.
Additionally, Mrs Awatey intimated that the first pilot Farmer Service Centre (FSC) had been constructed in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District to serve as a one-stop agricultural hub of mechanisation, inputs training, soil testing, storage and market linkages closer to farmers.
Thousands jobs
Other facilities to be made available, the Regional Minister indicated, were a Food and Beverages Industrial Park at Kwahu to process food to create thousands of jobs while an airstrip and convention centre also at Kwahu were to enhance the capability for international conferences and tourism events.
The President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, Nene Sakite II, who is also the Konor of Manya Krobo Traditional Area, who chaired the event, pledged the commitment and readiness of traditional leaders to the socio-economic development of the region.
A Consultant for the Eastern Expo 2026, Kofi Yankah, who also addressed the gathering, said the Ghana Tourism Federation, of which he is a council member, had agreed to partner the Eastern Expo to bring all their activities, including exhibitors and investors, to the region.
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