By
Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA
Accra, Dec. 5, GNA –
A six-member Ghana-Japan Business Promotion Committee (GJBPC) was officially
inaugurated on Wednesday in Accra, to strengthen partnerships, deepen trade
relations and attract the requisite technologies and capital investment that
would be mutually beneficial to both countries.
The inauguration
also marked its maiden meeting to enable members of the Committee to hold
bilateral discussions and enhance the business climate between the two
countries.
The Committee
comprised representatives from the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC),
Ministries of Trade and Industry, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration and Business Development as well as the Japanese Embassy in Ghana.
The meeting was
co-chaired by Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr HIMENO Tsutomu and Mr Yofi
Grant, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GIPC, representing Japan and Ghana
respectively.
It was attended by
representatives of the Embassy of Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) and Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), as well as
representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) from
Japan and the Japanese Business Community.
On the Ghana side,
it included representatives from the ministries of Trade and Industry, Finance,
Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, National Entrepreneurship and
Innovation Programme (NEIP) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.
Addressing the media
at the Committee’s inaugural meeting, Mr Grant said, the Committee would be
proactive to address all the issues and challenges hindering investment
opportunities between the two countries.
He said over the
years, Ghana has had cordial relations with Japan through the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and would further deepen the relations
to bolster their economies.
“We’re very clear on
our Ghana beyond Aid strategy and I believe that the Japanese on the other side
also want to use Ghana as an arrowhead onto the sub-region and Africa at large.
“So this committee
wants to have a clear and open path where we can have mutual benefits resulting
from the efficient relations to facilitate free flow of investment capital and
devoid of any impediments,” Mr Grant said.
For his part, Mr
Tsutomu, the Japanese Ambassador, said there are 380 Japanese living in Ghana
with about 53 Japanese companies operating here.
It regarded Ghana as
one of the peaceful countries in Africa because of her long period of
stability, democratic dispensation and favourable business climate and would
work closely with the Ghanaian authorities to improve the bilateral ties.
However, he said,
there is more room for improvement and expressed Japanese government’s readiness
to strengthen its bilateral relations and help address any bottlenecks
hindering business transactions and investments.
The Japanese
Business Community used the opportunity to explain the challenges confronting
their businesses in Ghana and requested the Ghanaian authorities to improve the
business climate.
Their Ghanaian
counterparts led by My Yoofi Grant, the CEO of GIPC, Mr Charles Owiredu, a
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr Kofi Addo, Head
of Strategic Anchor in charge of Industries and Special Indicatives at the
Trade and Industry and Mr K. Duker, a Senior Advisor, at the Finance Ministry,
responded by highlighting some of the policies and programmes being implemented
by the Government to enhance the ease of doing business in Ghana.
The meeting welcomed
the establishment of the JETRO Accra Office, which would be officially
inaugurated early next year.
The Ghana-Japan
Business Promotion Committee (GJBPC) is a high-level partnership mechanism
aimed at facilitating mutual investment, trade and business interests between
both countries, as well as serve as a vehicle to drive strategic economic
partnerships for their mutual benefits.
It would promote and
support Japanese and Ghanaian businesses in each others country to thrive, as
well as promote Ghana as an entry point to Africa and as an investment hub for
Japanese companies.
GNA
