The Indian High Commission in Accra has set an ambitious target to double the value of trade between Ghana and India within the next five years to $6 billion.
Currently, trade between the two countries stands at $3 billion.
The Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Manish Gupta, said the figure was expected to significantly increase, following the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive partnership.
Mr Gupta made this known at a media interaction in Accra on Thursday, aimed at deepening engagement with the Ghanaian media and highlighting recent diplomatic developments, including the visit of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to Ghana earlier this month, the first by a sitting Indian head of government in 30 years.
The High Commissioner described the visit as “a historic milestone,” adding that it signaled a new era in India-Ghana relations.
“For the first time, coverage of Ghana in Indian media was unprecedented,” he said.
“From the Prime Minister’s arrival till his departure, the Indian media gave Ghana its due attention,” he mentioned.
He stated that both countries share a “privileged relationship,” rooted in historical ties dating back before Ghana’s independence, when India’s first Commissioner for West Africa was based in Accra.
“Our founding leaders, Dr Kwame Nkrumah and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, sowed the seeds for this emblematic relationship,” he added.
Key outcomes of the Prime Minister’s visit, he mentioned, included the signing of agreements on cultural exchange, traditional and herbal medicine collaboration, and institutionalized foreign office consultations at the ministerial level.
The High Commissioner also revealed that India would collaborate with Ghana’s University of Health and Allied Sciences and India’s to promote complementary medicine.
Furthermore, Mr Gupta said trade and investment would continue to be the cornerstone of the relationship, alongside co-operation in agriculture, food processing, health, vaccine production, ICT, education, and security.
Credit: Ghanaian times