Accra, Ghana, January 30, 2019//-The Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Birender Singh Yadav, urged Ghanaian businesses to expand their operations to the Asian country which has a lot to offer them.
According to him, “India is a land of immense opportunities with right combination of democracy, demography and demand and I invite all of you especially Ghanaian business houses to seriously look towards India for their business operations and invest in India”.
They will be welcomed with open arms and will benefit by joining the journey of massive economic growth happening in India, Mr Yadav told a large Ghanaian and Indian business leaders and government officials at a reception to mark the 70th Republic Day anniversary of India on 26th January 2019.
India-Ghana relations
“India-Ghana relations have been traditionally warm and friendly, resting on the strong foundations laid by our founding fathers, anchored on shared values and a common vision. India-Ghana relationship has been nurtured by exceptional warmth and greatly cherished by leaders of both our countries”, he stressed.
Mr Yadav added that bilateral relationship with Ghana would be guided by the 10 principled enumerated by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and had been strengthened through exchange of visits at the highest level.
“India is keen to deepen ties with Ghana in all areas and looks forward to working closely towards furthering bilateral economic and commercial relations for mutual benefit”.
India has been a reliable and steady partner of Ghana in her developmental journey of socio-economic growth guided by the principle of South-South Cooperation. The country is ready to partner in realisation of “Ghana Beyond Aid” vision through increased trade and investment relationship, the Indian envoy said.
Bilateral trade figures
“Bilateral trade between the two countries has shown an upward trend and increased from US$2.62 billion in 2016-17 to US$3.34 billion in 2017-18. During the period April-October, 2018, the bilateral trade amounted to US$2622.96 million with India exporting goods worth US$474.53 million and Indian imports from Ghana amounting to US$2148.43 million.
India is among top five trading partners of Ghana and Ghana continues to be a favored destination for Indian investments. It is worth highlighting that India is the largest destination for Ghanaian exports with trade balance heavily in favour of Ghana”, Mr Yadav emphasized.
India supports to Ghana
India has been supporting Ghana in capacity building by sending large number of Ghanaian officials for various programmes under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme and various training programmes as well as scholarships/fellowships under India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) decisions, he indicated.
“ITEC training programmes are popular and sought after by Ghanaians and over 2300 Ghanaian nationals have benefiting from professional training and skill development programmes in diverse fields.
During last two years Ghana utilized around 200 ITEC slots, 62 slots under India-Africa Forum Summit decision and 28 slots under Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships”.
India has been among the highest growing tourist destinations in the world in 2017 with a growth of 14 %. Ghana is included in the countries whose nationals are eligible for e-Visa and we invite Ghanaian nationals to visit incredible India for tourism, business or medical travel using the liberalized e-visa facility”.
African Eye Report
