It said the nation had lived up to its accolade as the gateway to Africa and West Africa in particular.

Mr Susnato Sen, Head of the Africa Region and Senior Director of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), made the remarks when he led a group of FICCI members to meet the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia at the Flagstaff House in Accra, ahead of an Indian expo to be organised in the country.

“Ghana is a very attractive destination for us, because of your long history of stability and the business climate here. Stability is crucial for us, and we are happy to hold this expo here to interact with our Ghanaian counterparts and explore business opportunities,” Mr Sen observed.

The delegation was accompanied by Ambassador Michael A. N. N. Oquaye, Ghana’s High Commissioner to India. The team is in the country as part of a three-day exposition dubbed: “Namaskar 2007”, which aims at branding India as a leading economic player and partner of the West African sub-region, to enhance a two-way trade relationship.

The event is being organised by the FICCI, in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), which attracted more than 60 Indian companies.

The business expo has lined up other activities such as a two-day exhibition on agriculture and food processing, construction, power, technology and textiles, and education.

Mr Sen noted that the expo would help facilitate India investment drive in Ghana and neighbouring West African countries and create awareness about the best Indian technologies and products in the region as well as explore opportunities offered by the sub-region.

He said: “Successful regional shows have already been held in the central and southern regions of Africa. ‘Namaskar Africa’ in Ghana focuses on the West Africa regional block”.

The Business Magnate noted that the expo targeted Ghana and thus, expected business delegations from neighbouring countries like Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra-Leone and Togo.

Vice President Bawumia recounted the historic relationship that existed between the two nations and urged the Indian delegation to take advantage of the pro-business agenda of the government. He said: “As we have stated from the very beginning, our government is pursuing an agenda of economic transformation based on strong private sector participation and anchored on sound economic fundamentals”.

According to the Vice President, there were space and opportunities for cooperation between the Ghanaian and Indian businesses and urged them to explore the many opportunities available in Ghana. “I’m sure members of the AGI and GNCCI will be ready to sit down with you and agree on mutually beneficial arrangements,” he stated.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is an association of business organisations in India. It was established in 1927 as a non-governmental organisation and draws its membership from the corporate sector, both private and public. The Chamber has an indirect membership of more than 2,500,000 companies from various regional chambers of commerce.