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27.03.2017 Business & Finance

Japanese Delegation Calls On Minister For Finance

By Ghanaian Chronicle
Japanese Delegation Calls On Minister For Finance
27.03.2017 LISTEN

An eight-member delegation from the Japan Embassy and JICA headquarters in Japan has paid a courtesy call on Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, at his office in Accra.

The team, led by H.E Kaoru Yoshimura, Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, included Mr. Kazuhiko Koshikawa, Executive Senior Vice President, JICA-Tokyo, and Mr. Noriaki Sadamoto, First Secretary, Japan Embassy.

Receiving the delegation, the Minister expressed gratitude to Japan for the decades of cooperation with Ghana in various sectors of the economy.

The Minister said the government was committed to stabilising the macro economy, strengthening revenue collection, and ensuring value for money in government contracts.

He said government was also implementing measures to re-profile the country's debt. All these measures were aimed at freeing fiscal space for growth and jobs.

The Finance Minister took the opportunity to invite investors from Japan to take advantage of the peace and security in the country, and partner government to make Accra, the Dubai in Africa – a conference and business destination.

He commended and expressed appreciation to JICA for the years of support in various sectors of the economy, adding that Ghana looked forward to a sustainable and effective cooperation between the two countries, to accelerate her development.

Mr. Kazuhiko Koshikawa reiterated the commitment of Japan to assist Ghana through Technical Cooperation Projects; Technical Cooperation for Development Planning; Country-focused Training; JICA Partnership Programs, Grant Aid and Loan Aid.

He listed some of JICA projects, as of March 2017, as construction of a new bridge across the Volta River on the Eastern Corridor Project; Strengthening Community-based Health Services, focusing on the Life-Course Approach in the three Northern Regions; Project for Enhancing Market Based Agriculture by Small Holderness and Private Sector Linkage in Kpong Irrigation Scheme; and Project for construction of Advanced Research Center for Infectious Diseases at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research.

Mr. Koshikawa highlighted the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship Phase 2 and the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, where he added that approximately eighty Japanese volunteers were in the country, the highest in the world.

In attendance from the MoF were Charles Adu-Boahen, Deputy Minister-designate; Abena Osei Asare, Deputy Minister-designate; Ms. Yvonne Quansah, Director, ERM-Bilateral, and Mr. Ali Mohammed, Head, Japan, China, Korea Unit.

Other JICA Officials included Mr. Koji Makina, Chief Representative, JICA-Ghana; Mr. Masanori Kurisu, Director, Africa Department; Ms. Akiko Komori, Deputy Director; Mr. Masashi Yamamoto, and Mr. Joshua B. Mabe, JICA representatives.

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