Ghana considered as Turkey's third largest trade partner

Accra, March 24, GNA - Ghana is considered Turkey's third largest trade partner, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, said on Thursday at a trade investment forum organised in Accra.

He said Ghana's vibrant diversified market economy coupled with its democracy made it attractive for Turkey to forge strong trade relations with her.

President Gul, who is leading a 108-Turkish delegation, is on a two-day visit to Ghana to strengthen bilateral relations and co-operation.

He said Ghana and Turkey could co-operate to develop the tourism, agriculture, road construction, health, energy, transport and communication sectors.

President Gul said his country was interested in investing in Ghana and other African countries to bring socio-economic development to"the doorsteps of the people".

He observed that due to the inter-relations that existed in the world, Africa's developmental challenges needed to be addressed through the collaborative efforts of both the developed and underdeveloped world.

"Problems and challenges in Africa cannot be left for Africans to solve. If the problems are left unsolved, it would become a problem for the world."

President Gul called on government to be committed towards developing the education and tourism sectors as they had the potential of raking in more revenue.

He said because Turkey had a well-developed tourism industry, more than 30 million tourists visited the country, last year. President Gul challenged Ghana to co-operate with Turkey to utilise transfer of technology, expertise and experience to maintain a diversified economy.

Ms Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry said Ghana needed to learn from Turkey to add value to export commodities. She gave the assurance that Ghana had established a credible democracy to attract and retain foreign investment. Ms Tetteh called for a private, public partnership to develop the communication, health and transport sectors of the Ghanaian economy. Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, traced the diplomatic and trade relations between Ghana and Turkey to 1958. He noted that Turkey had recently rekindled its enthusiasm in trade relations with Africa by establishing 15 missions on the continent.

Alhaji Mumuni said Ghana was committed towards adopting the best technological transfers from Turkey to develop her economy. The Ghana-Turkey Trade Investment forum was to hold bilateral talks to explore areas of comparative advantage for mutual benefit for both countries.