We will protect and sustain economic gains to attract more investment - Dr. Stephen Amoah

Deputy Minister for Finance, Dr. Stephen Amoah, has given assurance that the government will continue to ensure a conducive economic environment to attract more investment and support for the mutual benefit of Ghana and Japan.

He gave the assurance when he led the Ghanaian delegation to meet with the leadership of the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) and Japan External Trade Organization in separate meetings on the sidelines of the TICAD 9 Ministerial Conference held in Tokyo over the weekend.

“I can assure you that within the sub-region, Ghana is the best country to invest in terms of security, hospitality, entrenched democracy etc. and we have both natural and human resources. Ghana is the gateway to Africa; I encourage you to invest more in Ghana,” the deputy minister said.

Issues discussed included ongoing projects such as Volivo Bridge on the Volta River, the Tema Motorway Phase 2, support to Ghana’s education sector, the performance of Japanese companies in Ghana, how to attract more investors from the Japanese private sector, climate change/green energy, agriculture, as well as on-going bilateral and technical support programmes being undertaken by JICA and JETRO in Ghana.

Dr. Amoah also briefed them on the progress made on the IMF ECF programme, the debt situation and negotiations with OCC and external bondholders.

He also said that most economic indicators, inflation, GDP, among others were trending in the right direction and was confident that Ghana will meet conditions necessary for the disbursement of the next tranche of the IMF funds.

Dr. Stephen Amoah expressed the government's appreciation to the two institutions for their continued support of Ghana in various fields.

Naoki Ando, Senior Vice President of JICA, assured the delegation of Japan’s commitment to the development of Ghana.

He said JICA is seeking additional funding for the Volivo Bridge project to ensure that the project is undertaken in the shortest possible time.

During the meeting with JETRO, Dr. Amoah expressed the government’s appreciation to them for spearheading the Japanese private sector to set up manufacturing outlets in Ghana leading to an increase of over 50 Japanese companies currently doing business in Ghana.

Dr. Amoah assured the leadership of governments’ commitment to ensure a conducive environment for their businesses to thrive in Ghana to attract more investment from the private sector of Japan.

“I also urged you to help us get more Ghanaian goods into the Japanese market to improve balance of trade between the two countries, to increase trade volumes; huge opportunities exist along the agriculture value chain, and we want Japan to take advantage of,” he emphasised.

The Executive Vice President of JETRO, Kazuya Nakajo said the delegation remains committed to supporting investors to expand their business in Ghana and to tap into the West African Market.

They acknowledged progress made in the economy and encourage government to sustain the economic gains to attract and create more investment opportunities.

The 2024 Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial Meeting took place in Tokyo from 24th - 25th August 2024. The TICAD Ministerial served as a preparatory meeting for the main TICAD 9 SUMMIT which is scheduled to take place in Yokohama city in 2025.

Ghana’s delegation, led by Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; included Dr. Stephen Amoah, Deputy Minister for Finance; Genevieve Edna Apaloo, Ghana’s Ambassador to Japan; and officials of MFARI and MoF.

Ministers from 47 African countries participated in the conference which the government of Japan has been leading since 1993, to discuss sustainable ways to develop Africa. It is co-hosted by the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, and the African Union Commission (AUC).

MA/AE