Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 129 The Seminar concluded and agreed on the following: • The private sector could play a useful role in the sub-region by building bridges of partnerships; • In this era of Globalisation, African industrialists need to work in partnership with others to be competitive. • There was a need for dialogue between government, the private sector and the ECOWAS Secretariat on the entire integration process and; • There was a need to revitalise the Federation of West Africa Manufacturers Associations(FEWAMA). Also, in response to the Fast Track declaration, AGI(with the collaboration of The Confederation of Danish Industries(DI), undertook a study of regional integration in September 2000, focusing primarily on relations between Ghana and Nigeria, but with the inclusion of Cote d'Ivoire, which plays an important role in regional integration as a leading UEMOA country. The objects of the study included: • Providing a background report on regional integration; • Analysing the fast track negotiations between Ghana and Nigeria and; • Clarifying the Ghanaian private sector's views on regional integration and developing a list of proposals on how regional integration can be accelerated. The study involved desk research and interviews with government institutions, private sector organisations, companies and donor agencies in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria. The interviews in the two latter countries were carried out with the assistance of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria(MAN) in Lagos and the Federation Nationale des Industries et Sevices de Cote d'Ivoire(FNISCI) in Abidjan. The findings of the study were quite revealing to the extent that there was an indication of a gap between the governments' and the private sectors' perceptions of the essence and strategies for the regional integration process, be it the Fast Track initiative or overall ECOWAS approach. Focus of Regional Integration A substantial section of the Ghanaian private sector surveyed had reservations about the practical consequences of the fast track approach on their operations, taking into consideration the geographical location of Ghana vis-à-vis its immediate neighbours who are all members of UEMOA. The current volume and spread of trade between Ghana and these countries were and still remain quite significant compared to that between Ghana and Nigeria which is dominated mainly by oil imports from the latter.