Ghana, Germany vow to deepen economic cooperation

• Mr Ken Ofori-Atta,

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has stressed the need for Ghana and Germany to deepen bilateral and economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

According to him, both countries operated a similar economic structure with the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises leading job and employment creation.

Mr Ofori-Atta stated this during the Ghana Mutual Prosperity Partnerships (GMMP) Round table with German Businesses in Ghana.

The GMMP is meant to build a closer collaboration with the private sector and particularly German Businesses in Ghana.

Mr Ofori-Atta in his remarks said the objective of the government was to use the private sector as catalyst for growth and economic recovery and also to know the challenges facing the private sector particularly, German businesses in Ghana for redress.

In view of that, he said government wanted to know the challenges facing the private sector, hence the development of the GMMP.

Mr Ofori-Atta lauded Germany for its contribution to the development of Ghana and contributing 2.1 billion Euros under the G20 Compact with Africa and also commended the German companies which had decided to stay in Ghana, in spite of the difficult economic challenges facing the country.

He said Ghana had turned the corner and inflation had been more halved from 54.1 per cent in December last year to the 23.2 per cent currently, adding that the Cedi had been stabilised.

Mr Ofori-Atta pledged the government would continue to create the necessary environment for the private sector to thrive in Ghana.

The Deputy German Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Sivine Jansen, said German and Ghanaian businesses shared a long-standing business relationship that spanned a wide variety of products and services across different sectors.

“Germany strongly values our close partnership with Ghana across the different areas of cooperation and both countries continue to enjoy fruitful engagements at the political level,” she stated.

The Deputy Ambassador said it was fundamental for Ghana to accelerate its investments in infrastructure to provide the needed conditions for people and businesses to prosper.

The Chief Executive Officer of Development Bank Ghana (DBG), Kwamina Duker, for his part said the GMMP aligned with the mandate of DBG.

He said SME held the key to jobs and employment creation and the GMMP which was to build a viable SME sector was a step in the right direction.

Mr Duker said DBG had so far disbursed about GH¢700 million to businesses in the country which 40 per cent were women owned businesses.

The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Mr Yofi Grant urged German investors to take advantage of the investment opportunities in Ghana to diversify their investment portfolios.

Ghana, he said was rich in natural resources which German businesses could explore, adding that the geographic location of Ghana (Centre of the world) made the country the best destination in the world.

Mr Grant said a survey conducted last year, revealed that 98 per cent of the respondents said they still had strong faith in the Ghanaian economy, despite the difficulty macroeconomic challenges.

BY KINGSLEY ASARE