President Mahama on official visit to Japan, Singapore
President John Dramani Mahama left Accra yesterday for a visit to Japan and Singapore, aimed at deepening bilateral relations between the two countries.
It is also expected to expand trade and investment links and advance cooperation on shared development priorities between Ghana, the Group of Seven-member Japan and the Asian Tiger Singapore.
A statement released yesterday by the President’s Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said that in Japan, President Mahama would attend the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IX), where he would make a presentation at a plenary session on the Economy: Promoting Trade and Investment.
The President will then deliver an address at a Ghana Presidential Investment Forum showcasing Ghana's investment opportunities and the Resetting Ghana agenda.
He will also hold a series of bilateral meetings with key Japanese partners, including the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), senior representatives of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), and the Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, to discuss trade, investment, technical cooperation, and infrastructure partnerships.
Context
The Ninth TICAD will be held in Yokohama from August 20-22, 2025.
The government of Japan has been leading this conference since 1993, co-hosted by the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC).
Past TICAD conferences have yielded many key outcomes for Africa, including better appreciation of Africa’s development challenges, stronger partnerships between African nations and the international community, and a greater focus on African ownership of development initiatives.
Unlike other such multilateral conferences, TICAD has brought about concrete actions that have translated into financial assistance, particularly in education, water supply, health, and infrastructural development.
The establishment of the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is known to be one of the concrete outcomes of TICAD.
Singapore
After President Mahama’s engagements in Japan, he will undertake a three-day state visit to Singapore.
The state visit will include a courtesy call on the President, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, participation in the Africa-Singapore Business Forum, and an address at an investment forum to present Ghana's reform and investment priorities and strengthen private-sector linkages between Ghana and Singapore-based investors.
The visits seek to attract investment, broaden market access for Ghanaian goods and services, mobilise technical and development cooperation, and bolster partnerships in technology, infrastructure, finance, and human capital development.
