Ghana and South Africa have held a business forum aimed at building sustainable business ties and strengthening bilateral trades between the two countries.
Mr Yoofi Grant, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), in his remarks at the forum said there were a lot of opportunities that could be harnessed between the two countries.
He said areas that could be targeted included automobile, manufacturing, energy, agro food, finance, infrastructure, among others.
Mr Grant noted that Ghana was resource endowed and was “centrally placed relative to the world which offered it a strategic opportunity for expert’s distribution and logistics.”
He said the country was a compelling partner for South Africa because among other reasons, it had strong democratic credentials and political stability.
The GIPC CEO said hence, partnership between the two countries was “only a matter of scaling up and building a critical mass of manufacturing on the continent.”
“So for me, the partnership can only inure to our mutual benefit by ensuring that we actually have a good balanced trade,” he added.
Mr Grant indicated that the country was partnering the South Africa because “they give us a good example of what a growing nation should do,” coupled with the country’s resolve to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He stressed that for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) to be successful, countries needed to trade.
“Ghana and South Africa had agreed to spearhead the AfCTFA movement and make it viable by demonstrating that we can work as partners. So we can look for the areas of common interest and exploit them for benefit.
“Ghana is very happy to have South Africa, a more industrialised nation as it key partner in this whole endeavour,” Mr Grant stated.
He further said the GIPC in 2022 would hold conferences aimed at activating Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for opportunities in the AfCTFA.
For her part, the CEO of the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), South Africa, Ms Philisiwe Mthethwa, said the forum presented the opportunity to renew economic relationships and strengthen strong bilateral trades between the two countries.
She underscored that such forums would drive the industrialisation of the Ghanaian economy as well as the South African economy.
Ms Mthethwa, therefore, charged the two countries to embrace the partnership and make the most of it, stating that “let’s put our African countries at the forefront to achieve the growth we seek.”
Quoting Dr Kwame Nkrumah to add that, “we are not Africans because we were born in Africa, we are Africans because Africa was born in us.”
BY ABIGAIL ARTHUR
