Fortifying ‘golden alliance’ - Narendra Modi’s visit to Ghana

India was historically referred to as a “golden sparrow” due to its immense wealth, prosperity, vibrant arts, culture and architecture, particularly pre-British rule.

The title also accentuates the significant wealth and influence India held in the ancient world.

The nation was contributing 23 per cent of the global economy. However, due to British colonisation, it dipped to four per cent.

After ruling India for approximately two hundred years, the British finally succumbed to the pressure of the freedom movement and relinquished control of India on August 15, 1947. 

In 1821, the British entered Ghana by taking control of trading forts and rechristened the nation as “Gold Coast”, looking at the abundant gold deposits.

The Kwame Nkrumah-led Convention People’s Party (CPP) played a vital role in gaining freedom from the British in 1957 and renamed the nation as “Ghana.”

The leadership of Kwame Nkrumah was highly inspired by the philosophy and methods of non-violent resistance invented by Mahatma Gandhi.  

Besides drawing a few parallels as mentioned earlier, both countries embraced democracy after gaining freedom from British rule.

Ghana & India turned out to be the torchbearers in the Sub-Saharan & Indian Subcontinent, respectively and opened the floodgates for others.

By the mid-1950s, the Cold War between the Soviet Union-led socialist bloc & USA-led capitalist bloc was at its peak, and both blocs were determined to woo the rest of the world into their orbits.

Instead of joining either bandwagon, the duo of Jawaharlal Nehru (India) and Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana) counterbalanced the bipolarization by establishing the Non

Aligned Movement (NAM) in Sept 1961. Other founders were Sukarno (Indonesia), Gamal Nasser (Egypt) and Josip Tito (Yugoslavia).

On the visit of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to Ghana, it is necessary to review snapshots of the progress of bilateral relations, especially when the robust foundation was laid in the formative years, over the past more than six decades. 

Economic, trade relations

The Joint Trade Committee (JTC), offering a structured framework for discussions, was set up on October 12, 1981.

However, the first-ever meeting of JTC was held in Accra in September 1992.

The second and third JTC meetings were held in Delhi in January 2011 and July 2022, respectively.

The fourth and latest JTC meeting was held in Accra on May 2, 2024, focusing on strengthening bilateral ties on economic and trade relations. 

The trade between both nations surged from $0.8 bn in 2010-11 to $2.2 bn in 2020-21.

However, it grew significantly to $3.2 bn by 2024-25, Ghana contributed $ 1.8 bn as against India’s $ 1.4 bn. Ghana holds a positive trade balance, accounting for 70 per cent of gold to its total exports. 

Besides gold, it exports commodities such as cocoa beans, timber, and raw cashews; and imports various commodities such as pharmaceuticals, automobiles, machinery and equipment, plastics and chemicals. 

The Indian government, through EXIM Bank of India, offered $ 0.4 bn multiple Lines of Credit (LOCs) for supporting various developmental projects at concessional interest rates.

The construction of the Tema-Mpakadan railway network is one of the biggest projects handled by India, whereas the construction of the iconic Jubilee House Presidential complex proved to be the architectural landmark of Ghana.

According to the recent report published by the GIPC, Indian companies have invested in 820 projects amounting to $ 1.92 bn between 1994 to 2024.

India brought $ 93.84 mn FDI for 25 projects, representing 7.65 per cent of total FDI flown in Ghana in 2021, whereas it fetched $ 16.46 mn for 12 projects in 2024. Though India still stands among the top investors in Ghana, the recent figures raise alarm. 

Political, diplomatic relations

India set up its Consulate in 1953 and established full-fledged diplomatic relations in 1957.

The High Commission in Accra is also accredited to neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso, Togo and Sierra Leone. Ghana has had its High Commission in New Delhi since 1957. 

Bilateral talks and visits regularly take place to strengthen the partnership.

India and Ghana support each other on various global platforms, including the U.N. 

Connections, Cooperation

The 15,000-strong Indian community contributes immensely to Ghana’s socio-economic landscape and actively participates in local developmental projects.

Cultural exchanges and academic programmes help to strengthen people-to-people linkages that are the bedrock of the relationship. 

The Indian government, in partnership with the Ghana government, set up the prestigious Ghana India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in 2003, which houses West Africa’s first supercomputer (India-made PARAM) and has trained more than 50,000 students to date.

Cooperation programme and education scholarships have been offered; the programme has an excellent uptake with over 4000 beneficiaries.

*Indian institutes have collaborated with Kumasi’s prestigious Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Kumasi Technical University for student exchange programmes and research partnerships.

*During the pandemic, a few consignments of India-made COVID-19 vaccines were supplied as a goodwill gesture.

Way forward Ghana’s perspective:

To actualise the vision of John Mahama’s government of a 24-hour economy, giving major thrust on local produce and reducing the unemployment rate, it will certainly seek cooperation from its reliable ally, who holds expertise and the right intent to do so.

To support ensuing infrastructure projects, the John Mahama government prefers to understand better models, including digitalisation for increasing revenues, the use of the public-private-partnership model, possibility of obtaining enhanced Line of Credit facilities.

India’s perspective:

The bilateral discussions may lead to various possibilities, including seeking more sops from Ghana to lure investors and strive to recover the FDI-dip.
Continual support of Ghana and its neighbours to strengthen the leadership in the Global South.

To blossom the bilateral relationship between both democracies, India may consider the possibilities of holding talks more often at various levels.

Looking at several aspects, the visit of the Indian Prime Minister after three decades will certainly bolster the bilateral relationship and propel the growth engine of both economies.  

The “Golden Alliance” between Ghana and India is built on the foundation of shared values, mutual respect, common vision and strong historical ties. The forthcoming visit of Narendra Modi to the “Gateway of West Africa” on July 2 and 3, and his bilateral talks with his counterpart, John Mahama, will further polish the “Golden Alliance”, only to look more glittering and promising. 

(Source for the figures mentioned: Latest report published by the Indian High Commission in Accra)

The writer heads a steel manufacturing company in Ghana.