Ghana reviews bilateral economic agreements, treaties

Ghana is renegotiating most of its bilateral economic agreements and treaties with other countries to meet the realities of the evolving and dynamic global economic situation.

The revisions are being done through bilateral joint permanent commissions for cooperation, economic and political dialogues, and consultations with strategic investor states.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who announced this in Accra on Tuesday said despite the cordial relations between Ghana and its partners , it was time for a review.

“Ghana’s domestic and foreign policies underscore the importance of maintaining strong bilateral, economic relations with our international partners to attract the much needed foreign investment towards the building of a strong and resilient Ghanaian economy.

“In this regard, while I’m happy to know that Ghana has over the years leveraged its cordial relations with key partners to enter into mutually beneficial bilateral economic agreements, I believe that it is time to review some of these agreements so that they reflect the changing and dynamic international economic situation”, she said .

Ms Botchwey disclosed this when she delivered the keynote address at this year’s Economic Counsellors’ Dialogue, organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) in collaboration with the ministry.

The dialogue, attended by foreign mission representatives provides a platform to discuss and proffer solutions to issues bordering on economic trade and investment in Ghana, as well as cooperation with foreign partners.

It was also attended by officials from the GIPC, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana Revenue Authority, Association of Ghana Industries and the Office of the Attorney General.

Ms Botchwey said the renegotiations had proven beneficial for far and, thus called for continued collaboration through constant dialogue to reach mutually beneficial investment agreements.

She said every country’s ability to attract foreign direct investment was key to its development and the signing of international investment agreements are important in this regard.

The minister said these agreements were designed to increase the flows of foreign investment among nations to achieve economic development while creating a stable, transparent and predictable environment for foreign investment.

She said the agreements provide assurances to foreign investor investors that their rights would be respected and fair legal remedies when there are breaches or violations.

On her candidature for the position of the Commonwealth Secretary General, she restated her proposal for a transformative Trade and Development Agenda to boost participation in the multilateral trading system.

The GIPC Chief Executive, Yofi Grant, said the Centre would continue to advocate joint venture partnerships between local businesses and international investment capital.

While projecting Ghana as the best investment destination in the sub-region, he said the Centre was prepared to offer the needed guidance to ensure the success of such partnerships.

He said as part of recent developments, the GIPC had established a Diaspora Investment Desk (DID), an Aftercare Division, and a dedicated Business Development (BD) team in realigning its operations.

BY JONATHAN DONKOR