Ghana's delegation to Bush's inauguration returns home

Ghana has received a positive response from the United States (US) Representative for Africa, Rosa Witaker to expedite the processing of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act to enable Ghana benefit from it.

This was the outcome of a meeting by Witaker with Ghana's three- member delegation led by Mr Samuel Odoi-Skyes, Chairman of the NPP to the inauguration of Mr George W. Bush as the 43rd US president.

The other members of the delegation were Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister designate for Trade and Industries and Mr Kwabena Darko an entrepreneur.

Speaking to newsmen on the delegation's return to Accra on Monday, Dr Apraku said their meeting with the US trade representative also involved exploring business opportunities, trade promotion as well as speeding implementation of the Act.

He said Witaker pledged to extend technical training opportunities to the Ministry of Trade and Industries and other government agencies to enable Ghana to take advantage of the tenets of the Act and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement.

He said the delegation also met with officials of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and discussed ways of facilitating greater inflows of investment into the country.

They urged the OPIC officials to implement the ACT, which requires them to provide special funding in the export of goods into the US market.

Dr. Apraku said at another meeting, the President of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) pledged CCA's support for the government of Ghana to strengthen the ties established over the years by the two countries.

The CCA also promised to plead the case of Ghana for greater investment and trade assistance by the Bush administration.

CCA is made up of representatives from 187 major companies including oil and financial institutions doing business in Europe, the US and Africa.

CCA has become one of the major influential organisations in the US that lobby on behalf of Africa to ensure the enactment of favourable legislation in respect of trade and investment flows in Africa.

Dr Apraku said the delegation met with the Christian Coalition, which expressed the desire to invest in communication, information technology, housing and agriculture.

Mr Odoi-Sykes said CCA commended Ghanaians for the smooth transition to a new administration and extended an invitation to President J.A. Kufuor to participate in its annual conference, to be held in Philadelphia in September this year where he would have the opportunity to meet investors.

Mr Odoi-Sykes said the delegation also met with the Ghanaian community to explain to them the current political dispensation and elicit their contribution to the development of the nation.

Mr Darko described the visit as "wonderful", saying that the response was very good and most of the businessmen they met expressed the desire to invest in Ghana.