PRESIDENT J.A. Kufuor has stated that harmony among captains of industry and government will help the country to attain a middle income status by 2015.
?With excellent working relationship among labour, government and industry, the nation should be able to achieve sustainable increase in revenue and become a middle income economy by 2015,? he said.
Speaking to Ghanaian journalists after he had held talks with the Yugoslav leader, President Vohjislav Kostunica in his hotel suite in New York on Wednesday, President Kufuor said his government is in the process of removing all bottlenecks in the economy to pave the way for massive foreign and local investments.
The President is in the US to attend the 57th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly.
President Kufuor expressed optimism that Ghana can earn about $1 billion in revenue when the President?s Special Initiatives begin to yield results.
He said that the government is taking steps to address the problems associated with land acquisition in the country to make it possible for investmentors to get access to land without difficulties.
The President said Ghana?s economy has depended on cocoa for many years and advocated the need for the diversification of the economy.
According to him, one area where Ghana has the trump card for economic success is in the field of information, communication and technology.
President Kufuor expressed the hope that the use of ICT could help Ghana to increase her per capita income from $400 to $2000 to become a middle income country.
?Until we diversify production and add value to our products we cannot hope to obtain the much needed resources to push the nation forward,? he said. While in the US, the President is expected to use the opportunity to convince ICT companies to set up companies in Ghana.
He is scheduled to address captains of the ICT industry in Utah next week.
Already some ICT companies in India have expressed interest in setting up ICT centres of excellence in Ghana. President Kufuor said some of the attractions Ghana has as an investment destination are her human and material resources as well as democratic, peaceful and liberalised economic environment.
He dismissed criticisms that he travels a lot and argued that it is important to package and market Ghana well in a globalised world.
President Kufuor said that Ghana?s relations with Yugoslavia date back to the time when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Mr Josef Tito were both leaders in their respective countries in the 60s.
He said over the years, the diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries reduced considerably adding that the Yugoslav Ambassador to Ghana left Accra last September .
President Kufuor said it was high time the two countries began fresh efforts to improve and upgrade diplomatic and economic relations between them.
He said Ghana followed with keen interest and concern the political development in Yugoslavia and noted with satisfaction the positive changes taking place in that country now.
On his part, President Kostunica said his country?s relations with Ghana should go beyond mere diplomatic relations.
He indicated that economic tires between Ghana and Yugoslavia should be the basis for new relationship between the two countries.
?We are looking forward to upgrade the relationship between Ghana and Yugoslavia?? he added.
