Ghana ready to double trade volume with Turkey – deputy trade minister
Michael Okyere Baafi, deputy minister of trade and industry, says Ghana is ready to double its volume of trade with Turkey, currently worth $500 million
The deputy minister of trade and industry and MP for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi, says Ghana is ready to double the volume of its trade with Turkey, which stood at US$500 million at the end of 2020.
Speaking during the ministerial meeting at the Third Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum, which is under way in Istanbul, Turkey, the deputy trade minister said Ghana’s economic outlook and investment climate have been created consciously by the current government to ensure protection for investors and their investments.
“Ghana is ready to host Turkey’s businesses. Ghana is a friendly country and a very viable place for business,” Okyere Baafi told the Forum.
“We hope Turkish businesses will be interested to come and settle in Ghana in the areas of agribusiness, infrastructure development, health care, industrial park development and other key sectors.”
African participants
Ghana is among 45 African countries taking part in the two-day Turkey-Africa Economic Forum, which is running in the Turkish capital, Istanbul, until 22 October 2021.
The deputy trade and industry minister is leading Ghana’s delegation to the Forum.
African captains of industry, some heads of government and officials of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are participating in the event, as are trade and industry ministers from many African nations.
Focus
The Forum aims to promote Turkish-African cross-investment by examining hard data from analysis of trade and economic relations between Africa and Turkey.
It also aims to highlight the expectations engendered by the African Union’s Agenda 2063 as a programme for social, economic and political transformation that will make Africa a prosperous, united and economically independent continent.
According to an official communication from the Turkish government, the four main objectives the Forum aims to achieve by the end of the two-day engagement are: first, raising awareness in Turkish/African business circles of investment and business opportunities in Africa and Turkey.
Second, the Forum aims to raise awareness of the AfCFTA and its implications for the public and private sectors alike.
Third is identifying possible future directions for a Turkey-Africa partnership in the trade, investment, technology and logistics nexus. Lastly, the Forum wishes to channel the private sector in both Turkey and African countries towards commercial, industrial and technological partnerships.
The fourth aim is to foster increased contact between business actors from Turkey and African countries as well as strengthen the dialogue platform with African regional economic communities.
Wilberforce Asare
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