Canada’s imports from Ghana primarily cover cocoa, wood, and vegetable products, while Ghana mainly imports vehicles and parts, machinery, cereals and miscellaneous textiles from Canada.

The Canadian Minister of Migration, Refugees and Citizenship, Mr Ahmed D. Hussen, however, told the Ghana News Agency that his side was working with the Ghanaian key stakeholders to increase trade and investment for bilateral prosperity.

 In 2015-2016, the Government of Canada, contributed $135 million in official development assistance to Ghana.     

Mr Hussen said Canada was committed to assisting Ghana to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals for the wellbeing of citizens, especially in ensuring quality education, an inclusive society and the empoweringof girls and women to maximize their potentials.

“The bond between our countries dates back to more than 60 years ago and we have been strong allies on the bilateral level and also on the multilateral stage because of our shared values,” he stated.

”There’s still a lot of work to be done to make things better, and trade is very high on the agenda; that’s why during my visit I have engaged government officials, business people and civil society representatives to find common grounds of cooperation in a win-win situation.

“I attended an event of the Ghana-Canada Chamber of Commerce on the exciting times ahead in our relationship and I know that their counterparts in Canada are also working very hard to bring investments to Ghana.”

Mr Hussen said the shared values of championing Good Governance, Inclusiveness, Respect for Human rights, Gender Equality and a Peaceful world made Ghana and Canada natural allies on the global front.

“We’ll always be there for Ghana, whether in fighting diseases and promoting health; improving food security and nutrition; or promoting climate-smart agriculture,” he said.

Canada, has this year, pledged to commit$120 million to supporting the Government’s major agricultural initiative, dubbed ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’.

Mr Hussen, who was on a two-day official visit to also engage Ghana on forgingbroad partnerships on the UN Global Compact on Migration, has since left Accra.

The Compact to be adopted at the UN Conference in New York, in September 2018, seeks to promote Safe, Regular and Orderly migration around the world.

Canada is a champion of the world adoptinga comprehensive approach to developsystems that would make migration well-planned and well managed in the interest of migrants and their source and host countries.