Ghana-India Partnership Could Create More Opportunities

Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Sugandh Rajaram; Minister of National Security, Albert Kan Dapaah; Central, Ashanti and Volta Regional Ministers, Mrs. Justina Marigold, Simon Osei-Mensah, and Dr Archibald Yao Letsa respectively; and MP and former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah.
While traditional rulers at the event were, the President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II; the Paramount Chief of the Asogli Traditional Area, Togbe Afede XIV; and Neenyi Ghartey VII, the Paramount Chief of the Effutu Traditional Area at the event

Accra, Ghana//-Ghana-India Partnership which has been touted by many as the most effective vehicle of strengthening socio-economic ties could create thousands of opportunities for youth in both countries.

These opportunities according to the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Sugandh Rajaram would be derived from more than five pillars of the partnership.

Welcoming a large gathering of people at his residence in Accra to mark this year’s India-Ghana Partnership Day organised by the High Commission of India to celebrate Mutual Development through Cooperation as part of India@75 independence anniversary, he was confident that the pillars including economic, political, development, skills, and new height, and cultural could transform both countries for the better.

Mr Rajaram explained that the idea to celebrate the spirit of the partnership is that; “We want to see what we instituted here to deepen our relationship”.

Both developing countries he noted have enjoyed intense and cordial relationships which date back eight decades. Even this relationship did not suffer during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic which claimed several lives worldwide and impacted negatively on the global economy.

India showed commitment by donating doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the West African country at the time that other countries were practising vaccine nationalism and vaccine protectionism.

Economic ties

Trade between Ghana and India is recovering after dropping in 2020 due to the pandemic. The volumes of trade between the two countries which stood at $4.5 billion before the pandemic, recorded about 15% gains from $2.3 billion to settle at a current value of $2.7 billion and it is expected to grow above the pre-pandemic figure.

Ghana’s major exports to India include gold, cashew, cocoa, nuts, and timber products. While India’s major exports to Ghana include pharmaceuticals, agricultural machinery, transport vehicles, electrical equipment, plastics, iron & steel, beverages & spirits, cereals, and made-up textiles.

Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Sugandh Rajaram speaking at the event in Accra

India is also among the top five trading partners of Ghana and is the largest destination for Ghanaian exports. 80% of total imports from Ghana to India consists of gold, according to trade data.

Additionally, Mr Rajaram told the gathering: “India has committed more than a half billion dollars to Ghana for the past decades”.

The Asian country’s credit lines include a $24.98 million credit facility to the Ghanaian government for the construction of an assembling plant to boost the agriculture sector.

The credit facility would be used for building the structure for the assembling plant, supply of knockdowns and fabrication of agriculture implements including tractors, backhoe loaders, power tillers, power reapers, power pumps, and paddy threshers.

The project when completed is to support smallholder farmers to boost agricultural productivity, diversify the manufacturing base of the country and create jobs for the people.

Other key ongoing projects supported by the Indian government are- the construction of a 97.620km railway line from Tema to Mpakadan by Messrs Afcons Infrastructure limited of India.

The $447.173 million project has been completed and it is waiting to be commissioned by the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

While the implementation of the $30.0 million Rehabilitation and Up-Grading of Potable Water Project in Yendi in the Northern Region, Strengthening of Agricultural Mechanisation Service Centres (AMSECs) Project of $150.0 million, and recently completed Foreign Service Training Institute Project (US$5.0 million), which was handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFARI) in March 2022.

The Indian diplomat was quick to add that his home country would give special focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India’s new priority to speed up the transformation of the two developing countries.

Energy transition

As renewable energy is a big thing in India, Mr Rajaram said Ghana’s potential in renewable energy is great and therefore pledged to help bring in more investments into that sector.

Furthermore, he stated India is also supporting the global energy transition agenda. To this end, the Indian envoy re-echoed the country’s commitment to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2070.

At the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP26), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a five-fold strategy — termed as the panchamrita — to achieve this feat.

Mr Rajaram therefore stressed: “We want to see that these our new priorities become the priorities of our partner countries like Ghana”.

Skills and capacity building

Ghanaian beneficiaries of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scheme are putting the knowledge they acquired into good use for the benefit of the country.

According to him, the Indian government through the ITEC programme had provided technical assistance worth billions of dollars to developing countries, including Ghana.

Since the inception of the scheme in 1964, it has benefited thousands of students and professionals from Africa, while India spends over $100 million annually on ITEC activities.

Ghana has been one of the major participating countries under the ITEC scheme.

Increasing ITEC beneficiaries

Since the commencement of the ITEC scheme, over 2,000 Ghanaian students and professionals have been trained in India.

Ghanaian students and professionals also benefit from other existing schemes, such as annual scholarships awarded by Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), the Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plan (SCAAP), and the Government of India to Ghanaian students to pursue undergraduate/post graduate and higher courses in India, UN Peacekeeping courses, professional courses for Foreign Diplomats, the High Commissioner further said.

Apart from the training of civilian personnel, ITEC also imparts training to defence personnel through various defence institutions in India. The entire expenditure for training, including to and fro airfare, tuition fees, and accommodation and living expenses is always borne by the Government of India.

The ITEC programme ranges from short term courses to Diplomas and master’s degrees of one-two year durations.

The ITEC courses cover diverse fields such as agriculture and agro-processing, entrepreneurship development, tool design, small business creation, tele-medicine, energy, promotion of rural industries, information technology management, banking, food processing, audits, and accounts, among others.

Commendations

 Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, a Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in charge of Political and Economic matters who was the guest speaker of the event commended the India High Commissioner to Ghana for his continued support, and the tireless effort in helping to make Ghana a major participant in the ITEC programme and other supports.

Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, a Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration addressing the gathering

He noted that India had extended considerable technical assistance to Ghana through various Indian institutions, including the ITEC and the Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plan (SCAAP), which emphasis has been on human resource development and transfer of knowledge.

India-Ghana bilateral relations

India’s relations with Ghana have been long and historic and enjoy exemplary bilateral relationships.

The strong foundation of India-Ghana friendship was laid by India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and Ghana’s first President Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

This friendship and bilateral cooperation between the two countries have grown steadily and have stood the test of time, he stressed.

The Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT and the Golden Jubilee House are shining examples of India-Ghana bilateral cooperation.

Dignitaries

The event was attended by dignitaries including- Minister of National Security, Albert Kan Dapaah; Central, Ashanti and Volta Regional Ministers, Mrs. Justina Marigold, Simon Osei-Mensah, and Dr Archibald Yao Letsa respectively; and MP and former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah.

While traditional rulers at the event were, the President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II; the Paramount Chief of the Asogli Traditional Area, Togbe Afede XIV; and Neenyi Ghartey VII, the Paramount Chief of the Effutu Traditional Area and traditional ruler of Winneba in Ghana.

By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report

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