Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has urged developed nations around the world to take full advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement by increasing foreign direct investments into Ghana; the launch pad of African investment.

The Minister made the point at a joint press briefing in Ankara, Turkey as part of a two-day official visit from the 12th to 13th January 2020 at the invitation of her Turkish counterpart, Mr Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu.

Already, both countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide a framework for enhanced cooperation in the field of Information Technologies and Diplomatic Archives.

However, taking her turn to address the media after an official ceremony to sign the MoU, Ms Ayorkor Botchwey expressed the need for developed nations to partner the government of Ghana’s industrialisation agenda of Ghana Beyond Aid, adding that such moves will help build a self-reliant Ghana and Africa as a whole.

“Our President is serious on this policy (Ghana Beyond Aid) because we all believe that aid cannot develop any country. It is when you are self-reliant, when you are adding value to raw materials and, so, we’ve looked at the diversification of our raw materials and all these things, where we are adding value, where we are attracting investment into our country, where we are finding new markets for our raw materials; these are the things that will bring development to us and for us to reach a Ghana beyond aid,” she said.

The minister also revealed that there are ongoing political consultations and regional cooperation between both countries to boost Turkish trade and investment across Africa in the wake of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, which is headquartered in Ghana and will provide a 1.2-billion African market.

“We're very much together working with Turkey and we believe that Turkey is looking at the 1.2-billion African market. Nobody thought that Africa could finish and make progress with the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. We’ve done it, we’ve ratified it, it’s in force. Ghana, fortunately, is hosting the headquarters of a 1.2-billion market with a combined GDP of over 3 trillion dollars. I think this is a market that any investor would want to look at and I believe that the launch pad is for them to come to Ghana into the rest of Africa”, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey told reporters at the conference. 

For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu stated that Ghana is Turkey’s third-biggest trade partner in sub-Saharan Africa and that interventions are underway to increase trade volumes up to 1 billion dollars.                 

Also present at the joint press briefing were a high powered delegation that accompanied the Ghanaian Foreign Minister including the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre GIPC, Yoofi Grant; Edwin Provencal, Chief Executive officer of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST), the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotions Authority, Afua Asabea Asare and other high level officials from both the public and the Private Sectors of Ghana.