By Maxwell Awumah
Ho, July 24, GNA – Plans are afoot to launch the Ghana-Vanuatu Partnership for Trade and Investment Scheme (GVPTIS) in the Volta Regional capital, Ho.
Ambassador Professor Hugh Aryee, Vanuatu Trade Commissioner for Ghana and West Africa announced this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Ho, after paying a courtesy call on the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa.
It targets to establish bilateral ties and bonding between Vanuatu, a South Pacific Ocean nation and the Volta region and Ghana by extension.
He said a twining sister city partnership initiative was in the pipeline between Ho and Port Vila, the national capital of Vanuatu.
He said the partnership is expected to support industrialisation of key sectors from agribusiness to pharmaceutical, Small-Medium Scale as well as Large-scale Enterprises to export to Vanuatu and promote innovation in their circular economy for significant benefits to all parties.
Prof. Aryee said the partnership co-operation would be anchored on investment with the economy of Ghana play a crucial role as lead investor in the Vanuatu economy.
He said the resolve to show commitment to the development of sustainable, innovative, and bilateral trade solutions would be exemplified by the significant investments that would be made by Ghanaian investors and the West African Sub-Region in general.
He said the GVPTIS would strategically facilitate further trade between Ghana and its trading partners in West Africa and beyond with a new focus Melanesian region.
Key sector of focus for investment in Vanuatu economy dovetail into agribusiness and agro-processing; manufacturing, construction, and utilities; tourism facilities development; infrastructure, ICT, Fintech, and digital economy; real estate development as well as energy, oil, and gas.
Its export commodities are; coconut and its derivatives, beef fisheries, Kava, cocoa, coffee, perfume plants, timber, and services while imports include refined petroleum, poultry products, delivery trucks, rice, cement, and services including human resource especially ICT professionals.
The Ambassador said Vanuatu with wide spectrum of untapped potentials in its non-mineral sectors is open and encouraging the right climate for investors and ready to support investment plans to explore these opportunities.
He said due to its bilingual status and ranked twice by the United Nations as the ‘Happiest place on Earth, Vanuatu maintained a favourable economic climate driven by low inflation, steady upward economic growth, huge corporate and personal tax incentives, and a well-organised locally regulated financial system.
Prof Aryee said Vanuatu had earned global reputation as an excellent investment destination for international business and the Volta region, Ghana and West Africa stands to benefit immensely to and access Vanuatu market for all goods to stimulate economic growth and fostering a formidable trade environment.
The Y-shaped archipelago country made up of 83 islands that offers scuba diving at coral reefs, underwater caverns and wrecks that stretches 1,300 kilometres, has a population of 319,137, according to the World Bank (2021) with official languages being Bislama, English and French.
Vanuatu could be described as an enchanting South Pacific paradise.
The nation’s capital and economic centre, Port Vila situate on Efate Island, is home to the Vanuatu National Museum, which explores the nation’s Melanesian culture. Vanuatu has Australia, Fiji, and New Caledonia as neighbours.
Vanuatu, ‘the returned land,’ tagged as the happiest place on earth, has comparative advantage in cassava and banana production. Its traditional staple food and delicacy, the ‘Laplap,’ made up of banana, tapioca and coconut cream mixed and barked.
The Trade Commissioner of Vanuatu to West African sub-region, recently led a five-member delegation from the Trade Commission to pay a courtesy call on Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin at Parliament House in Accra.
The visit by the team was to build bilateral relationships and to initiate trade talks between the two countries with links to West Africa.
Dr Letsa expressed gratitude to Prof Aryee and his group for expressing interest to partner the region, whose quest for industrialisation with the private sector leading the drive has reached pitch high.
He shared the potentials of the region and requested a collaboration between the region and Vanuatu in lieu of the impending 2023 Volta Trade and Investment Fair slated for November 26 to December 10.
He indicated the prospects of a sister-city concept would be mutual and beneficial to the two areas on a win-win situation.
GNA