Veep Lauds India For Jump-Starting Ghana's Development Agenda

Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama yesterday lauded India for the massive support it extends to Ghana by way of scholarships and exposure of the country to Information, Communication and Technology (ICT).

He observed that since the pre and post independence era, Ghana had drawn a lot of inspiration from the Asian country, stressing that the first Ghanaian President, 'Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and the India authorities were bed fellows.'

Vice President Mahama, who was interacting with the India High Commissioner, Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam at the Osu Castle acknowledged the high level exchanges between the two countries, citing the First Africa-India Forum attended by President John Agyekum Kufuor this year and the India Conclave, which he attended personally.

He showered praises on India for supporting the Bui Dam Project, the provision of 60 million dollars for the construction of the new Presidential Complex and the sponsoring of the Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence.

Vice President Mahama expressed satisfaction about the desire of India to hook all the 53 countries in Africa to Tele-education, among other things.

Mrs Ghanashyam said India had enjoyed good relations with Ghana at the global level, which had formed the strong foundation for bilateral relations.

She said in the spirit of South-South co-operation, India was offering a number of scholarships to African students and noted that Ghana was one of the largest recipients of the package.