A special committee has been started to promote trade and investment and enhance the business relationship between Ghana and Japan.
The committee is made up of high-level Ghanaian government representatives selected from the ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Trade and Industry and Business Development and from the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).
Japan is being represented by officials from the Japanese Embassy in Ghana, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan External Trade Organisation (JATRO) and Japanese private sector participants.
The committee is known as the Ghana-Japan Business Promotion Committee (GJBPC) and will serve as a high-level partnership mechanism to facilitate mutual investment, trade and business interest between the Ghana and Japan.
It will also serve as a vehicle to drive a strategic economic partnership by promoting and supporting Ghanaian businesses in Japan and Japanese businesses in Ghana. It will also promote Ghana as an entry point into Africa and an investment hub to Japanese companies.
Also Read: South Africa to explore trade, investment opportunities in Ghana
The committee will also set up information sharing mechanisms on trade updates, laws and regulation policies, industry standards and market trends to the benefit of both countries. The committee will also organise trade and investment-related delegation to other countries and help to visit business delegations from Japan to identify and deliver solutions to challenges faced by Japanese companies or businesses in Ghana and Ghanaian companies or businesses in Japan.
Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration, Mr Yofi Grant Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre said Ghana was repositioning itself to be the most attractive business destination in Africa and a hub for investment, trade and industrial activities in Africa.
Mr Grant said that in order to achieve the objectives, measures have been kept in place to ensure microeconomic stability through physical consolidation, better debt management and significant reforms in some major sectors.
He further added that Ghana was a preferred destination because of its economic and political environment like its reduction in interest rates, significant economic progress and positive trade balance in the last two years.
“The Ghana mission in Tokyo is ready to facilitate and assist Japanese businesses to thrive in Ghana and use Ghana as an entry point to West Africa and eventually into Africa,” said Mr Charles Owiredu, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
