Canada High Commissioner advocates reforms to attract investment

Canada’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Myriam Montrat, has emphasised a need for the country to reform its business and regulatory environment to attract international trade and investment.

Speaking at the Canada-Ghana Chamber of Commerce end-of-year celebration, she highlighted that reforms are critical to unlocking Ghana’s economic potential and strengthening its trade relations with Canada and other countries.

“Ghana has much work to do toward reforming the business and regulatory environment to better welcome international trade and investment,” the High Commissioner stated, adding that sustained advocacy and collaboration with like-minded partners will be essential in driving these reforms.

While acknowledging the significant progress in Canada-Ghana relations, she called for a shift from discussions about potential opportunities to tangible trade and investment outcomes.

“In our commercial relations particularly, we need to move past talking about the great potential of increased trade and investment toward more actual results,” she said.

To this end, the High Commissioner further called on stakeholders to engage in continuous advocacy for reforms and collaborate with chambers and diplomatic missions to overcome barriers.

“We need to continually engage in advocacy with like-minded diplomatic missions and their national chambers to bring the necessary pressure for positive reforms to bear.

“On our side, Canada needs to improve our awareness of the economic opportunities that Ghana represents. These are challenging times economically, but we must have sustained engagement between our companies to establish relationships that sow the seeds for long-term growth and mutual prosperity,” she stated.

Partnership

Reiterating Canada’s commitment to mutual prosperity, the High Commissioner urged Ghanaian businesses to leverage Canada’s expertise in areas such as sustainable resource development, research and education.

She pledged to work with the Trade Commissioner team to open doors for Canadian businesses in Ghana and strengthen people-to-people ties.

“Please make us your partner of choice in business,” she said, highlighting Canada’s core values of quality, innovation and integrity.

Looking ahead, the High Commissioner expressed optimism for Ghana’s economic recovery in 2025, emphasising the importance of using 2024 as a year to foster growth and collaboration.

“Let us make next year a record one for bilateral commercial success stories,” she urged, encouraging regular engagement between Ghanaian and Canadian businesses.

CanCham

For her part, the President of the Canada-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (CanCham), Linda K. Vasnani, commended members and stakeholders for their dedication and contributions during 2024, which marked a year of significant achievements and impactful initiatives for the Chamber.

She added that her outfit remains committed to driving development and intensifying focus on strategic partnerships.

Looking ahead, Mrs. Vasnani outlined the Chamber’s goals for 2025 – including expanding bilateral trade between Ghana and Canada, strengthening advocacy for the business community and organising strategic networking events with other chambers.

“We will also continue to build capacity through webinars and training,” she added.

She also acknowledged the Chamber’s council members’ dedication and unwavering support of CanCham Ghana’s members.

“As a Chamber, we exist because of you. We owe our success to your unwavering support,” she remarked – promising an exciting year ahead filled with initiatives to advance the Chamber’s objectives and foster stronger ties between Ghana and Canada.

Awards

Outstanding members of the Chamber for the year under review were recognised for their dedication and unwavering support to the Chamber, as well as strengthening trade relations between Ghana and Canada.

The night saw Consolidated Shipping Agencies Limited emerge as the CanCham Member of the Year, while Edward Wiliam Wiafe won the Executive Leadership award.

Other winners included Base Pharmacy Company Limited, Sewia Mining Company Limited and M&G Logistics Limited, among others.