President Mahama holds bilateral meeting with Singaporean counterpart
President John Dramani Mahama and his Singaporean counterpart, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, have held bilateral talks on interoperability of payments to unlock trade across African borders.
“It is not enough to sign protocols on free movement of people and goods. We must be able to pay for the goods across borders,” President Mahama said at the meeting last Wednesday.
The President, who was on a three-day state visit to Singapore, also said that Ghana was backing continent-wide solutions, including the start of the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), and wanted to draw on Singapore’s expertise.
“Other areas of interest are agribusiness, downstream processing of products like cashew, cocoa,” he added.
The discussions touched on other issues aimed at attracting Singaporean investors to Ghana to help create job opportunities for the youth.
Delegation
President Mahama was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (MP); Advisor and Special Aide to the President, Joyce Bawah Mogtari; the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare (MP), and the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu(MP).
Others are the Deputy Chief of Staff in-charge of Operations, Stan Xoese Dogbe; the Presidential Spokesperson and Minister of State for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu; the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Simon Madjie, and the CEO of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Francis Kwarteng Arthur.
Opportunities
President Mahama further said that Ghana was targeting job creation through a twin push in modern agriculture and services.
“On tackling the challenge with jobs, agribusiness has space for work and lots of employment, and we have, as part of our Reset Agenda, put a lot of focus on it.
“Ghana has more than enough arable land for farming,” he added, highlighting the Volta Economic Corridor.
“We have over two million hectares of land along the river for development into agro-processing parks and irrigated lands, among others, and surely, that will be another game changer under our Resetting Ghana and the 24-Hour Economy programme,” the President said.
He also pointed to the “creative and digital services” economy as a rapid employer for Ghana’s youth.
The sector, President Mahama said, “employs faster and creates five jobs easily before a job is created in the traditional job markets”.
Ghana must succeed
For his part, President Shanmugaratnam said “the first Asian country to sign the implementation of a carbon credit agreement with Ghana and the first in Africa, is Singapore,” casting the deal as a platform to channel investment into low-carbon growth.
President Shanmugaratnam praised Ghana’s reform efforts, and said: “Ghana must succeed for West Africa and Africa to succeed, and I see that you are dealing with the country’s issues, including the debt challenge admiringly.”
He described President Mahama’s address at the Africa Singapore Business Forum as “a strong reflection of the bilateral relations between our two countries.”
President Shanmugaratnam acknowledged that “jobs are a challenge, but it is also something you are dealing with”.
He said Singapore’s interest was also in helping develop small and medium enterprises (SMEs), alongside green and agro-industrial projects.
