Ghana,India bilateral trade grows
Bilateral trade between Ghana and India has crossed the one-billion dollar line as Indian companies have invested about 800 million dollars in various sectors of the Ghanaian economy.
Advertisement
Additionally, hundreds of Ghanaian students and officials receive training from India every year.
The Indian High Commissioner in Accra, Mr K. Jeeva Sagar, who announced this in Accra at a ceremony to mark the 64th Republic Day celebrations of India, said India was proud to be able to make a contribution to the socio-economic development of Ghana through grants and credit lines.
India’s independence
Mr Sagar said India became an independent country in 1947 and three years later, on January 26, 1950, had its own written constitution and declared itself a republic.
He said national days were annual milestones in a nation’s journey and “while human beings became fragile with each birthday, a nation, on the contrary, became stronger, richer by experience, wiser in its leadership and sturdier in its resolve with each passing year to give a better life to its people.”
According to him, India has, since independence, made great strides in ensuring the economic and social well-being of its over 1,200 million people and added that although the country ran short of food grains at the time of independence, today, India was a factor of stability in the global economic order.
Vision of Democracy
He reiterated that India would continue to be a responsible member of the international community and would continue to contribute to global peace, security and prosperity.
Mr Sagar said Ghana and India shared a vision of democracy, prosperity for the people, inclusiveness and dignity, and added that last year, Ghana’s youthful leadership demonstrated to the world the depth and vibrancy of its democratic credentials through an electoral petition judged by the Supreme Court.
Government of Ghana
Mr Roger Kwesi Angsomwine, Secretary to the Cabinet, who represented the government of Ghana, said the government and people of Ghana were pleased to identify with this auspicious event marking another milestone in the journey of India.
He said the government of Ghana acknowledged with profound appreciation the immense contribution the government of India and the Indian community had made to the socio-economic development of Ghana, particularly in the areas of human resource development, telecommunications, education , health and agriculture.
Appeal to India
Mr Angsomwine appealed to private and public Indian health institutions to consider partnering with their Ghanaian counterparts within the framework of private-public partnership to set up renal units in Ghanaian health institutions to offer affordable treatment to patients in the country.
“This is because Ghana recognises India’s capability and expertise in this specialised field of medical practice which is becoming a silent killer in Ghana,” he said.
He assured the Indian business community that the government of Ghana would continue to provide an enabling environment for foreign businesses to operate in the country and expressed the hope that India would take advantage of investment opportunities in the energy, agricultural and infrastructural sectors of the economy and invest in them.