The business interaction event which was organised by the World Trade Centre, Accra and brought together high-profile business executives from both countries was on the theme: ‘Promoting India-Ghana Business Relations through Trade and Investment’. It was aimed at showcasing the various programmes and initiatives of the government of India for the benefit of the private sector in Ghana.

The Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Birender Singh, explained that the partnership with the country would not only deepen the friendly relations between the two countries but would also deepen economic co-operation and collaboration.

He indicated that India had been supportive to the country’s economic growth over the years through lines of credit and grants amounting to US$ 230 million.

He said the Ghana-Indian development partnership had stretched half a billion dollars and listed some of the projects and financial support given to Ghana to include areas such as water supply, agriculture and lines of credit.

“India has a philosophy to support the socio-economic development of other countries in our commitment to further develop the relation by finding new areas of co-operation. India will continue to work with the country to overcome the global challenges that confront the two nations and the rest of the world,” Mr Singh stated.

The Minister of Business Development, Mr Ibrahim Awal,  pledged the government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive since the sector constituted a key component in the country’s economic growth.

He indicated that the government was working on improving on the country’s framework to remove any bottlenecks that hindered private investors in order to give them the opportunity to expand their businesses and employ more people.

He said Ghana and India had a long relationship in the area of industrialisation, energy, health and education and expressed the hope that the partnership would continue to enhance their mutual benefits.

According to him, the government had established a national entrepreneurship and innovative plan to drive local business ownership and equip Ghanaians with the needed creative skills to create jobs for themselves.

Mr Awal noted that the Small and Medium Enterprises played a critical role in creating jobs for the citizenry and, as such, the government had put in place fiscal policies to reduce the high cost of doing business and stimulate economic growth.

He said the government had set up an Industrial Development Fund to support critical private sector industrial initiatives, as one of the means of tackling the rising unemployment levels.

Mr Awal said Ghanaian businesses faced significant challenges in exporting or importing goods at the ports, and as a result, the government had reduced fees and charges at the ports to ease business transactions.

“Government has introduced reforms in port clearing systems and benchmarked our ports against some of the best in the world such as Dubai and Singapore, to make our ports some of the most efficient in Africa to support import and export,’’ he said.

The Managing Director of WTC Accra, Mr Emmanuel Doni Kwame, advised the Indian business community to continue with the capital injection into the country’s economy and endeavour to invest in some of the key economic sectors.

He said the centre brought together businesses and government agencies involved in international trade to provide essential trade services, missions and market research to stimulate the economy.