Ozlem Ergun Ulueren
Turkey has pledged to increase its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Ghana from $400 million to $1 billion.
The new Turkish Ambassador to Ghana, Ozlem Ergun Ulueren, made this known on Tuesday in Accra when she paid a courtesy call on Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
Discussions during the brief meeting focused primarily on how to deepen the bilateral relationship between Ghana and Turkey.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said that Ghana could have what he described as an outbound trade relationship with Turkey moving forward.
Ambassador Ergun Ulueren, who has been in Ghana for about two months, spoke about a wide range of projects that Turkish companies and institutions have been undertaking in Ghana since the two countries entered into bilateral relationship in 1960.
She indicated that Turkish construction companies had invested about half a billion dollars in Ghana, and that there were ongoing Turkish projects in Ghana, including those in the energy sector.
The envoy stated that the mutual relationship between both nations should be maintained going forward, recounting how Turkey had to close down its embassy in Ghana in 1980 and reopen in 2009.
She also expressed the readiness of Turkey to support President Akufo-Addo’s vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah told the ambassador that Turkish investors and companies could consider other sectors of the economy which needed investments.
He specifically mentioned the agriculture, tourism, industry and the capital market.
The Minister said the capital market in Ghana was booming and safe for anyone to make investment.
He appealed to the ambassadors for both Ghana and Turkey to explore ways to open up the Turkish market for Ghanaian products.
By Melvin Tarlue