A Delegation to Ghana and West Africa was announced on the 5th March by the Trade Commissioner Hon. Uttam Malick in Odisha after the appointment as the Trade Commissioner of Ghana West Africa. The India Africa conference was celebrated by the India Africa Trade Council in Hotel Mayfair on 9th January and Chief guest was the Charge D Affaires of the Kingdom of Lesotho His Excellency Thabang Linus Kholomo with the collaboration and support of the Indian Economic Trade Organization to accelerate the trade relationships between both countries. Various MOUs were signed by the Trade Commissioner Hon. Uttam Malick, who is in various infrastructure business and the real estate development sector in Odisha and Hyderabad. His experience comes on the backdrop of development of various special economic zones in Odisha state.
The event which was attended by the business community and Agriculture stakeholders in Bhubaneshwar. TheTrade Commissioner Hon. Uttam Malick pledged the commitment of support between the two nations for a robust partnership. There is a huge interest in India for Ghana, a country with great scope for bilateral tradingopportunities in MSME, Pharma, Cashew, Timber and Gold. This collaboration will also be useful for identifying business partners, collaborations, alliances, setting up industrial units, display Indian products and services and other related business activities as well as to take up issues to concerned authorities. The India presence in Ghana is very robust.
Republic of Ghana exported $1.18B to India. The main products that Ghana exported to India were Gold ($853M), Coconuts, Brazil Nuts, and Cashews ($139M), and Crude Petroleum ($92.8M). During the last 25 years the exports of Ghana to India have increased at an annualized rate of 17.2%, from $22.2M in 1995 to $1.18B in 2020. India exported $749M to Ghana. The main products that India exported to Ghana are Packaged Medicaments ($102M), Packing Bags ($36.6M), and Rice ($27.3M). During the last 25 years the exports of India to Ghana have increased at an annualized rate of 14.2%, from $27.3M in 1995 to $749M in 2020. The delegation visited the various organizations in Ghana to engage with ministries of Trade, Health, Pharma, Food and Drugs Authority, Free Zones Ghana and Agriculture stakeholders.
The chief guest of the event HE Thabang Linus Khulomo from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kingdom of Lesotho emphasized on strengthening relations between both countries and deepening them with India’s economic diplomacy. He also mentioned how India’s bilateral relations are growing and with many visits by delegations. It is a great moment especially when India is having the year of Millets and promoting for the food security for the world
“As a President of the organization, my goal is to build bilateral relations reach new heights between India and Ghana and our forthcoming delegation in 2024 will be on to deepen and diversify the relationship by identifying new synergetic areas for cooperation and collaboration, especially after the establishment of new trade mechanisms between our countries for trade and commerce” said Dr Asif Iqbal, President of the Indian Economic Trade Organization who is looking to connect the companies for business in African countries. Indian delegation will explore opportunities in areas of contractual farming, poultry industry, meat processing and agricultural collaborations and also identify other opportunities for building up a robust infrastructure needs of the country.
As part of India’s vision become a US$ 5-trillion economy by 2025, an export target of US$ 1079 million to Ghana was set for the first time in 2021-22. The target was achieved with India’s exporting goods and services worth US$ 1109.46 million last year. For 2022-23, the export target is US$ 1230 million against India’s export for the first half (Apr-Sep 2022) recorded US$ 539.86 million, as compared to US$ 549.78 million last year.
India and Ghana are connected via Dubai, Paris, Addis Ababa, Doha and other flight connections. “Tourism sector is an important part for Indian travelers and we will try to bridge this sector in our trade offices” said Dr. Asif Iqbal. “Big countries like India are helping to excel in the trade sector. At the same time, cities like Bhubaneshwar are growing industrially and supporting economic growth. In this way, it has been established to improve the relationship between India and Ghana and to gain superiority in trade and industry” said Dr. Vassundhara Nattes, the Director of the IATC in Gurgaon.
As part of the ceremony, Trade Commissioner Uttam Malick was presented by the certificate of appointment byIATC in presence of all office bearers to promote better relations between India and Ghana and presented with certificate from the India Africa Trade Council.
