Ghana`s Economic Diplomacy in Serbia

Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, Ghana's Ambassador to Serbia has intensified his investment promotion drive with a day's visit to the offices and factory of Trayal Corporation, manufacturers of Trayal wheel tyres for cars, trucks, tractors, bicycles, motorbikes, fork lifts, aircraft (both military and civil), with varied sizes.

The company's history dates back to 1889. It has its main factory at Krusevac, some 200km South of Belgrade, and engages in three main areas of production: tyre production, production of protective devices, and production of pyro-technical (signaling and smoking) devices. The production is carried out at three different factories in three different locations, though tyre production constitutes its core business, raking in approximately 75% of Trayal's total income.

The President of the Board of Trayal Corporation, Mr. Dragan Jovanovic, the Export Manager, Ms. Vesna Stajic, Mr. Radisa Savic of the Foreign Trade Department and Ms. Danijela Petrovic of the Export Department, the Production Director, Mr. Radisa Veljkovic welcomed the Ghanaian envoy to the company's premises.

The Production Director told Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe that 75% of Trayal's raw materials is imported from Malaysia and Indonesia which supply natural rubber, whilst synthetic rubber is imported from Europe, with Turkey and Germany exporting steel to the company.

He stated Trayal Corporation imports coconut shells (husks) from Sri Lanka for the manufacture of active carbons, whilst Ammonium Nitrate used for the production of explosive devices for the mining industry, is imported from Croatia, Hungary and Russia, though the company used to import the coconut shells from Egypt, previously. The Production Director disclosed that Trayal is willing to import these raw materials from other parts of the world so long as the quality meets the standards and expectations of the company.

The Production Director reported that Trayal also engaged in technology transfer with other firms and cited Egypt as one country where Trayal undertook such an exercise by helping establish a Production Unit there in 1988.

The President of the Board of Trayal Corporation, Mr. Dragan Jovanovic, disclosed that Trayal was in the process of being privatized, the bid documents of which were ready.

In expressing the desire that fruitful economic cooperation between Serbia and Ghana would be realized for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries, the President of the Board assured that the affection which Serbians had for Africans in general and Ghanaians in particular still remained strong.

Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, expressed gratitude to the Board and Management of Trayal for making his trip possible. He observed that the company, that if Trayal was able to establish a Production Unit in Egypt, then it was very possible to do same in Ghana given the huge availability of rubber and coconut shells there.

Ambassador Nyaho-Tamakloe indicated Ghana's willingness to cooperate with Serbia in general, and Trayal Corporation in its specific expertise since there were lots of cooperation possibilities between the two countries. He stated that the main purpose of his visit was to see, at first hand, Trayal's line of operation and seek the possibility of Ghana supplying the company with some of its raw material requirements.

He underscored the Government of Ghana's current foreign policy orientation of economic diplomacy as being critical to reviving the country's economic fortunes, adding that the current government of Ghana was a staunch advocate of private sector participation and development.

That, he noted, would ensure competitiveness and enhance efficiency.