Madurai businessman Arunraja appointed trade commissioner of India Africa trade Council-Ghana

World Pulses Day 2023 was celebrated on the 10th of February in Hotel Alisa by the India Africa Trade Council in Accra with the collaboration and support of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Indian High Commission in Accra to accelerate the trade relationships between both countries. Various MOUs were signed by the Trade Commissioner Arunraja Periasamy, Director of Africa Granites in Madurai and various other stakeholders of the business and education in presence of the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Ghana Yaw Frimpong Addo and the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana Sugandh Rajaram. The event also saw the presence of the Global President of the India Africa Trade Council Dr Asif Iqbal, Chairman of the IATC Central and West Africa James Rajamani and Director of Protocol, Emmanuel Rajamani and the CEO of GHANAONE TV Bola Rey.

The event which was attended by the business community and Agriculture stakeholders in Accra. The Trade Commissioner Arunraja pledged the commitment of support between the two nations for a robust partnership. There is a huge interest in India for Ghana, a country with great scope for bilateral trading opportunities in MSME, Pharma, Cashew, Timber and Gold. This collaboration will also be useful for identifying business partners, collaborations, alliances, setting up industrial units, display Indian products and services and other related business activities as well as to take up issues to concerned authorities. The Indian presence in Ghana is very robust. The Kingdom Exim Group represented by the Rajamani brothers is one leading player in the Trade and commerce world in Ghana.

Republic of Ghana exported USD 1.18B to India. The main products that Ghana exported to India were Gold (USD 853M), Coconuts, Brazil Nuts, and Cashews (USD 139M), and Crude Petroleum (USD 92.8M). During the last 25 years, the exports of Ghana to India have increased at an annualized rate of 17.2 per cent, from USD 22.2M in 1995 to USD 1.18B in 2020. India exported USD 749M to Ghana. The main products that India exported to Ghana are Packaged Medicaments (USD 102M), Packing Bags (USD 36.6M), and Rice (USD 27.3M). During the last 25 years the exports of India to Ghana have increased at an annualized rate of 14.2 per cent, from USD 27.3M in 1995 to USD 749M in 2020. The delegation visited the various organizations in Ghana to engage with ministries of Trade, Health, Pharma, Food and Drugs Authority, Free Zones Ghana and Agriculture stakeholders.

The chief guest of the event Sugandh Rajaram from the Ministry of External Affairs emphasized on strengthening relations between both countries and deepening them with India's economic diplomacy. He also mentioned how India-Ghana bilateral relations are growing and with many visits by delegations. It is a great moment especially when India is having the year of Millets and promoting for the food security for the world. During the visit, many bilateral agreements in the field of Tourism Cooperation and Agrobusiness agreement were signed. Visits from Ghana at the Ministerial level have been taking place at regular intervals.

The Ghana Trade Commission in Tamil Nadu will put efforts to take full advantage of Economic Cooperation Agreement between the two countries and organize various activities to educate and create a conducive business atmosphere amongst the Indian SME Investor Sector for better business growth and investment promotion.

Minister Counsellor of the Ghana High Commission Hon. Ernest Nana Adjei said global trade relations were essential and it was gratifying to see the development of trade relations between India and Ghana.

"As a Trade Commissioner of IATC-Ghana, my goal is to build bilateral relations reach new heights between India and Ghana and our forthcoming delegation in 2023 will be on to deepen and diversify the relationship by identifying new synergetic areas for cooperation and collaboration, especially after the establishment of new trade mechanisms between our countries for trade and commerce" said Hon. Arunraja Periasamy who is looking to connect the companies for business in Ghana. Indian delegation will explore opportunities in areas of contractual farming, poultry industry, meat processing and agricultural collaborations and also identify other opportunities for building up a robust infrastructure needs of the country. The delegation visited some mines for gold and teak collaborations.

The Minister Counsellor Ernest also expressed great interest in supporting the trade relations between the two countries and invited the trade community to explore all the available choices for investors. India and Ghana have enjoyed warm and friendly relations dating back to the pre-independence era.

As part of India's vision become a USD 5-trillion economy by 2025, an export target of USD 1079 million to Ghana was set for the first time in 2021-22. The target was achieved with India's exporting goods and services worth USD 1109.46 million last year. For 2022-23, the export target is USD 1230 million against India's export for the first half (Apr-Sep 2022) recorded USD 539.86 million, as compared to USD 549.78 million last year.

India and Ghana are connected via Dubai, Paris, Addis Ababa, Doha and other flight connections. "Tourism sector is an important part for Indian travellers and we will try to bridge this sector in our trade offices" said Dr Asif Iqbal. "Big countries like India are helping to excel in the trade sector. At the same time, big cities like Madurai are growing industrially and supporting economic growth. In this way, it has been established to improve the relationship between India and India and Ghana and to gain superiority in trade and industry" said Dr James Rajamani, the Chairman of the IATC in Ghana.

As part of the ceremony, Trade Commissioner was commissioned oath by the IATC Africa in presence of all office bearers in Ghana to promote better relations between India and Ghana and presented with certificate from the India Africa Trade Council.

For more information, visit - www.ieto.online/ghana

This story has been provided by SRV.will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)

( With inputs from ANI )