Ghana to open trade office in Turkey
Ghana is to open a trade office in Turkey as part of a commitment to deepen bilateral trade ties between the two countries.
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The Minister of Trade, Mr Haruna Iddrissu, said the office was for Ghana to establish a long-term relationship with Turkey.
“I believe there will be a reciprocal commitment from Turkey in terms of honouring our agreement in enhancing trade and investment between our two countries,” he said.
Mr Iddrissu was addressing participants in the fourth session of negotiations of the Ghana and Turkey Joint Trade and Economic Committee meeting in Accra yesterday.
The three-day meeting followed a series of other meetings initiated by the two countries in 2011 to discuss opportunities of
co-operation in every sector of their economies.
Issues on pre-trade agreements, investment treaty agreements and matters relating to double taxation are also being discussed.
Driving government policy
Mr Iddrissu stressed the need for Ghanaians to take advantage of the opportunities offered on the Turkish market.
He said the government recognised a stronger partnership between the public and the private sectors and, added that in negotiating the investment treaty, there was the need to look at the extent to which the Turkish private sector could take advantage of the Ghanaian economic landscape for deeper investments.
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He, therefore, expressed the hope that the results of the deliberations would contribute to the development of bilateral relations between the two countries in all sectors of the economy.
Mutual benefit
The Deputy Director General of Agreements at the Ministry of Economy of Turkey and Head of the Technical Meeting, Madam Mugu Varol Ilicak, said the effort to develop bilateral relations with Ghana was mutual.
She said in 2013, Turkey’s exports to Ghana reached $179 million, while its imports from Ghana stood at $202 million.
Madam Ilicak recalled that in 2012, both countries set a record in the history of their bilateral commercial relations when trade volumes exceeded $526 million.
“If we try hard, I firmly believe that we will be able to reach and exceed this figure and reach the $1 billion trade volume in the next two years,” she said.
She was also of the conviction that significant
co-operation possibilities existed for the two countries to develop their bilateral and commercial relations.