Ghana and Japan are to host a two-day conference aimed at highlighting the trade and investment opportunities in the two countries.

The public-private initiative seeks to strengthen economic cooperation and unlock new areas of partnership between the two nations.

At a press briefing in Accra on Monday, the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Hiroshi Yoshimoto, said the joint mission conference scheduled for the 14th-16th of January this year in Accra, was intended to deepen economic ties by promoting Japanese investment in Ghana’s key growth sectors.

Mr Yoshimoto noted that the initiative builds on the momentum generated by the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) held last year, emphasising stronger partnerships between Japan and African countries.

“The joint mission seeks to deepen collaboration between Japan and Ghana by mobilising Japanese public and private sector resources to strengthen partnerships in trade, investment and sustainable development,” the Ambassador said.

He explained that the two-day event would mainly focus on agribusiness, automotive, space business, and other priority sectors considered in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed during the TICAD 9 forum that were critical to Ghana’s economic transformation.

“The conference would consider a proposed US$100 million investment with Degas, collaboration with Toyota Tsusho, and partnerships with Cross U and Accel Space among other priority areas included in the TICAD 9 MOU signed,” he elaborated.

Mr Yoshimoto also noted that key activities lined up include identifying, facilitating, and accelerating trade and investment opportunities in priority sectors in line with Ghana’s development goals and Japan’s foreign policy priorities.

According to him, site visits, sector-specific workshops, and dialogue sessions would be organised to deepen participants’ understanding of Ghana’s market conditions, regulatory environment, and investment facilitation mechanisms.

Other events such as promoting networking, matchmaking, and partnership building between Japanese companies and Ghanaian government and business entities, among others, would be discussed.

Furthermore, Mr Yoshimoto indicated that the conference would strengthen trade and investment flows between the two countries and increase awareness of Ghana’s market potential among Japanese investors, especially in view of the country’s favourable economic environment.

He added that about 70 participants from Japan’s business community, government agencies, and related organisations are expected to take part in the programme, with the mission being led by Japan’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs and a delegation of 35 Japanese companies across various sectors.