President AKufo-Addo exchanging pleasantries with Ghanaians in Shangdong
President Akufo-Addo has disclosed that Ghana will cooperate with China to improve the trade volume between the two countries which hit $6.7 billion in 2017.
The Ghanaian leader was thrilled about the huge progress China has made over the last four decades to become the second largest economy in the world.
According to him, Ghana, under his leadership, wants to break away from the shackles of poverty and diseases and become a self-reliant country in the near future.
In this regard, he stated that Ghana has decided to cooperate with China and learn from it in order to rub shoulders with the best in the world soon.
“Ghana also has the qualities that can make it progress to the level of China one day and that is why the country is cooperating with China.
“There is Chinese adage which says if you want to walk fast, walk alone, but if you want to walk far, walk with others and Ghana is walking with China.
The president disclosed this during the Ghana-Shandong Business Conference which brought Chinese and Ghanaian businesspeople together to deliberate on various issues.
He announced that China has remained Ghana’s leading trading partner over the last three years.
According to the president, the volume of trade between Ghana and China hit a whopping $6.7 billion in 2017 and set to improve this year.
“I want the Ghana-China cooperation to go higher and higher and that is why I travelled to this country,” the President told the audience.
President Akufo-Addo said that plans are underway to add value to Ghana’s natural resources before they are eventually exported to the international market.
“We want to stop being mere producers and exporters of raw materials, and thereby deal with China and Shandong on the basis of things we make.”
“Ghana’s era of industrialization is presently in full force, and so I invite investors to start knocking on the doors of the country to invest.
President Akufo-Addo said business-friendly policies had been implemented by his government to make investors feel at home in Ghana.
The President continued, “We believe that this is an area where Chinese technology and expertise would be very welcome, and we are happy to note that some important Chinese companies are, in fact, making efforts to enter the rail sector of our economy. We will know the result shortly but I am confident that there will be Chinese participation in the development of the Ghanaian rail sector.”
He told the business community that there are several projects in roads, water, housing, transport, industry, manufacturing, agriculture, petroleum and gas, the exploitation of Ghana’s mineral wealth of bauxite, iron ore and gold, among others, which are being structured to attract private sector financing.
President Akufo-Addo urged them to invest in Ghana through the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) or set up Free Zones enterprises.
“Regardless of where the investment is, government has instituted a number of incentives for the investor, depending on the nature of the activity or the location of the investment,” the President added.
From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Shandong, China