Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta says government is implementing measures to re-profile the country’s debt, all these measures were aimed at freeing fiscal space for growth and jobs.
According to him, government was committed to stabilising the macro economy, strengthening revenue collection and ensure value for money in government contracts.
He made this remark when an eight-member delegation from Japanese Embassy and JICA headquarters in Japan have paid a courtesy call on Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, at his office in Accra.
The team, led by Kaoru Yoshimura, Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, included Kazuhiko Koshikawa, Executive Senior Vice President, JICA-Tokyo and Noriaki Sadamoto, First Secretary, Japan Embassy.
Receiving the delegation, the Minister expressed gratitude to Japan for the decades of cooperation with Ghana in various sectors of the economy.
The Minister took the opportunity to invite investors from Japan to take advantage of the peace and security in the country and partner government to make Accra, the Dubai in Africa, i.e. a conference and business destination.
Mr Ofori-Atta commended and expressed appreciation to JICA for their years of support in various sectors of the economy adding that Ghana looked forward to a sustainable and effective cooperation between the two countries to accelerate her development.
Mr. Koshikawa reiterated the commitment of Japan to assist Ghana through Technical Cooperation Projects; Technical Cooperation for Development Planning; Country-focused Training; JICA Partnership Programs, Grant Aid and Loan Aid.
He listed some of JICA projects, as of March 2017, as construction of a new Bridge across the Volta River on the Eastern Corridor Project; Strengthening Community based Health Services, focusing on the Life-Course Approach in the three Northern Regions.
The Minister also listed Project for Enhancing Market Based Agriculture by Small Holderness and Private Sector Linkage in Kpong Irrigation Scheme; and Project for construction of Advanced Research Center for Infectious Diseases at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research.
Mr. Koshikawa highlighted the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship Phase 2 and the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, where he added that approximately eighty Japanese volunteers were in the country, the highest in the world.
In attendance from the Finance Minsitry were Charles Adu-Boahen, Deputy Minister designate; Abena Osei Asare, Deputy Minister designate; Yvonne Quansah, Director, ERM-Bilateral and Ali Mohammed, Head, Japan, China, Korea Unit.
Other JICA Officials included Koji Makina, Chief Representative, JICA-Ghana; Masanori Kurisu, Director, Africa Department; Akiko Komori, Deputy Director; Masashi Yamamoto, and Joshua B. Mabe, JICA Representatives.
