Ghana, Iran To Strengthen Ties

Ghana and Iran have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various areas for their mutual benefit.

At the just ended third session of permanent joint commission for cooperation held in Tehran, the two countries agreed to collaborate on research and technology transfer in agriculture and bio technology and genetic engineering as well as cultivation improvement methodologies.

This was contained in a release issued in Accra yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD at the end of the meeting.

Ghana’s side of the delegation was led by the sector minister, Mr Akwasi Osei Adjei, and included Mr Clement Eledi, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture and other top government officials.

It said the two sides also agreed to collaborate in the development and exchange of planting materials, provision of engineering and technical services and develop feasibility studies for the production of chemical fertilisers in Ghana and joint venture investment in agriculture.

On trade, economic and financial cooperation, the Iranian side expressed its readiness to establish private joint companies in Ghana to undertake technical and engineering project such as cement, production, power generation and downstream petrochemical industries.

The Iranian side further expressed interest in exploring opportunities in Ghana for joints partnerships in vehicle and tractor assembling plants as well as processing plants to add value to cocoa production.

On education, the two sides agreed to exchange instructors for technical and vocational education, grant scholarships to students and to conduct joint research in science technology and medicine at the tertiary level.

In the area of banking and finance, the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) agreed to extend short, medium and long term suppliers’ credit amounting to 350 million dollars to reputable Ghanaian banks through the Export Guarantee Fund of Ghana to be accessed by the private sector for small scale business development.

Towards that, negotiations are to begin shortly between the EGFI and that of Ghana to map out the modalities for administering the lines of the credit.

Iran also agreed to extend a loan of 250 million dollars to Ghana for rural electrification and another 100 million dollars for financing of cottage industries aimed at creating jobs.

On the energy front, Iran agreed to cooperate with Ghana in the development of oil and gas with particular reference to the acquisition of seismic data on Ghana’s Voltarian Basin.

On health, Iranian authorities agreed to a request by Ghana for support in the training of nurses and other health workers at post-graduate levels and to organise periodic workshops on public health care.