The Deputy Minister for Trade in charge of International Trade, Hon. Herbert Krapa has said that the President Akufo Addo led government was determined to transform Ghana into a manufacturing hub within the Africa sub-region.
He made this known at the Belgium-Ghana Multi-Sectorial Trade Mission held in Accra on Monday.
Hon. Krapa noted that the government’s pursuit of an aggressive industrial transformation agenda in the last five years, has been at the core of this vision and has resulted in giant establishments such as VW, Toyota, Nissan, Twitter, Google all moving to Ghana.
He added that for this reason, the Ministry of Trade and Industry was implementing a 10-Point industrialisation agenda to build productive capacity for both domestic and export markets.
“They include the National Industrial Revitalisation Programme, the One District One Factory Initiative; Strategic Anchor Industries; the One Region, One Park Policy to establish Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones across the country; SME and Entrepreneurship Development; the National Export Development Programme; enhancing domestic retail infrastructure, Business Regulatory Reforms, Industrial Sub-contracting Exchange and improving Public-Private Sector dialogue”, he explained.
With particular focus on the Strategic Anchor Industries, Hon. Krapa noted that “the objective of the 10 Strategic Anchor Industries initiative is to diversify the economy by creating new pillars of growth in the industrial sector”, he continued.
According to the Deputy Minister, these strategic industries are, the Vehicle Assembly and Component Manufacturing, Garments and Textiles, Pharmaceuticals, Petrochemicals, Vegetable Oils and Fats (including Oil Palm), Industrial Chemicals (including Industrial Salt), Industrial Starch (including Cassava Starch), Integrated Bauxite and Aluminum, Iron and Steel and Machinery and Equipment Manufacture.
He mentioned that over the past decade, total trade between Ghana and Belgium cumulated to over $7 billion United States Dollars, with 2019 recording an amount of $550 million United States Dollars. He added that currently, Belgium was one of Ghana’s most dependable trading partners within the EU.
He, therefore, applauded the organisers of the Trade Mission; Flanders Investment and Trade, Wallonia Export-Investment Agency (AWEX) and Hub. Brussels, under the auspices of the Belgium High Commission to Ghana for the initiative, which aims at further deepening the economic cooperation between Belgium and Ghana.
“A mission such as this not only takes stock of our collective achievements as bilateral partners but it must also remind us that the real task of bringing prosperity to our people lies ahead”, he emphasized.
The Belgium Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Michael Wimmer, who graced the occasion with a 38-member delegation comprising of investors and companies from various sectors of the Belgian economy, intimated the need for both countries to continue to build trust and commitment to creating lasting partnerships with the public and private sectors.
He observed that Belgian investments in Ghana generated over 50,000 direct investment into the Ghanaian economy, with more investors seeking to enter the local market to ultimately support the development of the country and the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda of the government.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC), Mr. Yofi Grant presented to the Trade Mission, the investment opportunities within the various sectors of the Ghanaian economy, outlining some reasons why Ghana was the preferred investment destination in the sub-region.
He opined that Ghana’s robust economy, stable democracy, skilled working force, favorable demographics, strategic location, lucrative incentives and opportunities amongst other impressive credentials, provided the needed business climate for investors.
He further urged the delegation to take advantage of the opportunities to invest in Ghana.
Source: ghanaweb
