Ghana and India will strengthen relations - President

Accra, June13, GNA - President John Dramani Mahama says although Ghana and India have had cordial relations over the years, the two countries would further strengthen the relations in the coming days for mutual benefits.

He said while the two countries shared common values in democracy, trade, investment, commerce and business development, others that would lead to job creation would be paramount in their next line of co-operation.

President Mahama said this when he hosted Indian President Franab Mukherjee to a dinner at the Flagstaff House as part of his two-day official visit to Ghana.

President Mukherjee, who would also be visiting Ivory Coast after Ghana, would, among other things, sign some bilateral agreements with President Mahama.

The two leaders are also expected to strengthen the relations in Information and Communication Technology, agro-processing and rural development issues.

The Indian President would later hold a business forum, visit the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, the Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence and plant a tree at the Flagstaff House to symbolise the relations.

President Mahama said as part of the relations in trade and business development, Indian investors, over the years, operated their popular supermarkets such as Glamour stores and Chandirams which created job opportunities for Ghanaians.

He said the recently revamped Komenda Sugar Factory was also a testimony of the cordial relations that existed between Ghana and India since 1957 when Ghana established her Diplomatic Mission in New Delhi.

He said politically, India influenced Ghana and her first President Dr Kwame Nkrumah in the struggle for independence of the country and the entire African continent.

President Mahama mentioned former President Nkrumah's policy of Positive Defiance to have had bearings on the Indian principles that Mahatma Ghandhi used in his leadership, particularly in the struggle for supremacy in the international political economy.

President Mukherjee said apart from the continental difference that existed between India and Ghana, their political, economic and some social aspirations were similar and there was, therefore, the need to harness their potentials for mutual benefit.

He said politically, the people of India remembered Ghana and Dr Kwame Nkrumah as an embodiment of African dignity and the struggle for the rightful place for the continent.

He said as the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain the status of lower income status, it was noteworthy that Ghana stood taller among her contemporaries and beyond.

He gave the assurance that while India would continue to provide scholarships for Ghanaians to study technology efforts would also be made by Indian companies to step up their investment in Ghana.

President Mukherjee said India and Ghana also had a common responsibility to fight against the rise of terrorism in the world that had resulted in the destruction of lives and property.

The Indian President, who was accompanied by some members of Parliament, ministers of state and business delegation, would visit the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research of the University of Ghana where he would unveil the statue of former Indian Leader Mahatma Gandhi.

President Mukherjee leaves Ghana on Tuesday morning for Ivory Coast.

GNA