SMEs critical in achieving middle-income status for Ghana - Sang-hak

Mr. Lee Sang-Hak, South Korea Ambassador to Ghana, on Friday said Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) were dominant in the country's industrial sector and could help in achieving a middle-income status.

He said "Korean government has launched a knowledge-sharing programme for Ghana this year which would not only be useful to Ghana's overall economic development but also contribute to the development of competitive SMEs".

Mr. Sang-hak was speaking at a reception of music and dance festival, organised by the Korean Mission in Ghana, as part of activities marking the Korean National Day, in Accra on Friday.

He said the programme dubbed" Building a basis for SMEs Development for Sustainable Economic Growth ", was a first model case in Sub- Saharan Africa and was meant to provide a complementary policy advice to Ghana in terms of its developmental objectives.

Mr. Sang-hak said "Since last year, governments of Ghana and Korea have been undertaking the E-Consul and E-government projects to enhance the Ghana government's administrative efficiency through a cutting edge information technology policy. “

He gave the hint that a city plan project for the oil developing area in the Western Region of Ghana and several concessional loan programmes on vocational training and water resources management were being positively considered.

Mr. Sang-hak said there was a standing technical cooperation programme in which the Korean government invites about 30 to 40 government officials and relevant experts for training annually.

He said Ghana was committed to democracy, good governance, economic stability and willingness to contribute to the peace and stability of Africa.

Mr. Kwadwo Adjei Darko, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, assured members of the diplomatic corps and the international community that Election 2008 would be fair and peaceful to reinforce the country's commitment to multiparty democracy.

Korean traditional music was sung and dance performance was staged by members of the National Centre for Korean Performing Arts.

The performances included percussion quartet, Salpuri, folk, drum, fan, and circle dances as well as Ghanaian folk music.