Ghana,Turkish economic relations to double – Vice President
Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday announced closer economic relations between Ghana and Turkey in the coming years.
“Our relations dates back to 1958, but due to some strange happenings, that relationship ended in 1981, but I am so happy that we have come back and I can assure you that this time we shall double our economic relations with Turkey.”
Vice President Mahama announced these when Mr Zafer Caglayan, Turkish Foreign Minister, led a business delegation to pay a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu.
The delegation is part of the 115-member Turkish business community that is in the country to participate in the Ghana-Turkey Business Fair.
Apart from the fair, both government and private business entities are expected to strike partnerships in their various areas of comparative advantage.
Vice President Mahama said in spite of Ghana’s oil find, maximum attention would still be placed on agriculture as the mainstay of the country, adding “I know Turks are very good in agriculture and our partnership in that area will not only see us as an oil-rich country, but also as a firm agricultural nation.”
He said with the global financial recession, Africa was fast establishing itself as the last frontier for investment and prosperity and called on the Turkish Government to take advantage of the enabling environment to invest in Ghana for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
The Vice President commended the Turkish government for offering scholarships to medical students from Ghana, adding that “That support will improve our human resource base for which the people of Ghana will forever be grateful.”
Mr Caglayan said his outfit had identified ‘virgin’ areas of investment in the country and would therefore take advantage of the country’s conducive business environment in the coming years.
He said the hospitality of Ghanaians, coupled with the country’s political stability, were great assets that could serve as an attracting force to investors into the country.
The Turkish Foreign Minister said his country was the 15th largest economy in the world and would partner Ghana in industrialization, which had propelled Turkey’s economy to that pedigree.
Source: GNA