Alhaji Tijani urges Saudi businesses to take advantage of AfCFTA opportunities

Ghana's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Mohammed Habib Tijani has urged investors and businesses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and invest in Ghana.

He said the single market created by AfCFTA presented investors with an enormous opportunity to reach out to the entire continent thereby accelerating the growth and transformation of the continent’s economies.

According to him,  Ghana remained a  safe and profitable destination for doing business in Africa and taking up investment opportunities will inure to the benefits of the investors.

Opportunities

At a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Sultan bin Abdul Rahman Al-Marshad, the Ambassador asked him to encourage Saudi investors to make use of opportunities presented by AfCFTA and invest in Ghana.

He said there are numerous investment opportunities in the Government's flagship development programmes such as the One-Village, One Dam (1V1D), One District One Factory (1D1F) and the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiatives.

He explained that the initiatives were introduced to enable irrigation in parts of the country especially the Savannah Zone throughout the year, tackle youth unemployment, achieve food security and add value to Ghana's exports through agro-processing.

Alhaji Tijani thus appealed to Sultan Al-Marshad to encourage relevant Saudi Institutions and businesses to invest in these projects.

Support

Alhaji Tijani expressed appreciation for the involvement of SFD in development programmes in Ghana since the 1980s.

He cited projects like the Northern Electrification Programme, the Tetteh Quarshie-Mamfe road project, and more recently the loans granted for projects at the Bolgatanga and Korle Bu hospitals.

Response

Sultan Al-Marshad on his part requested proposals of investment opportunities from the respective Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies(MMDAs) in Ghana for consideration by SFD and other business bodies.

He said Saudi Arabia was a major producer of high-quality fertilizer and could support the Planting for Foods and Jobs programmes.

According to the Sultan, the Saudi Exim Bank could be engaged to make arrangements with the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) to provide fertilizer and other agrochemicals to Ghanaian farmers at very competitive prices.