By James Amoh Junior
Accra, Jan. 31, GNA – Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, a Deputy Minister, Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, says Ghana finds India a dependable partner in bilateral cooperation, evident in India’s confidence and investment in the country’s economy.
He said the relationship between the two countries had been further strengthened at the recent 3rd sessions of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) and Joint Trade Commission (JTC) in July 2022 which resulted in greater cooperation between Ghana and India.
He said Ghana had benefited from many project initiatives from Indian companies which had contributed immensely to the growth of the Ghanaian economy leading to the creation of jobs and business opportunities for the youth in Ghana.
The Deputy Minister made the remarks at a cocktail reception hosted by the High Commission of India in Accra to commemorate the 74th Republic Day of the Republic of India.
He acknowledged the efforts of Ghana’s founding father, Dr Kwame Nkrumah and India’s, Jawaharlal Nehru “whose visionary leadership led to the establishment of cordial and fruitful relations between the two countries some six decades ago.”
Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong said: “Our continuous cooperation at both the bilateral and multilateral levels have been well nurtured to the mutual benefit of our two countries.”
The Deputy Minister said, it was gratifying that Ghana was one of the top three African recipients of India’s Line of Credit in the spirit of South-South cooperation which were used to finance projects such as the India-Ghana Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence for Information Communication Technology (ICT), the Jubilee House; The Pan African E-Network Project and Rural electrification.
He mentioned the establishment of the Foreign Service Training Institute and the many capacity building support to public servants to which Ghana was particularly grateful for.
The Deputy Foreign Affairs and Regional integration Minister called for an increased presence of Indian investors to take advantage of the African Continental Free-Trade Area aimed at promoting intra-African trade to further strengthen the trade ties between the two countries.
He announced that preparations were underway for Ghana to host the maiden Ghana-Indian Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) in the first quarter of 2023 to further boost trade and investment between the two countries.
Mr Sugandh Rajaram, Indian High Commissioner, who gave an emotive farewell speech as his duty tour comes to an end, said, the relation between both countries had been enhanced and such collaborations would be taken a notch higher.
He said some deliberate efforts had been undertaken to strengthen the India-Ghana ties and prioritise the friendship between the two countries, adding that politically some intense engagements took place in the last years and the mechanism of bilateral interactions had been reinforced.
The High Commissioner admitted that there was the need to rejuvenate efforts to further enhance the bilateral ties for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
The diplomatic corps, some ministers of state, traditional leaders and members of the Indian community in Ghana graced the event characterised by cultural performances.
GNA