Irene Vida Gala
Government is in talks with the Brazilian government to finalise a US$1billion master facility agreement for development of the country’s infrastructural sector.
The facility is expected to help tackle Ghana’s wide infrastructure gap with specific attention given to the energy, road and housing sectors.
Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana Irene Vida Gala revealed this while speaking in Accra at a pre-departure conference for a Ghanaian trade and investment delegation to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo in Brazil to explore business opportunities. The trade mission is being spearheaded by the World Trade Centre, Accra, a member-body of the global World Trade Centres Association (WTCA).
“Ghana is critically looking for available facilities to grow its infrastructure sector, and has realised that the Brazil government can be part of that development agenda,” she said.
According to data available from the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Brazil was the biggest foreign direct investor in 2013, with its investment into the economy valued at US$200million.
Brazil as well provided a total of US$4.6million in concessionary loans in 2013 to boost the country’s economy, while US$350million is expected in 2014.
Brazil’s presence in the country is already increasing, as projects such as the development of the Accra Airforce Base, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Tamale Airport, and tranches five and six of the Eastern Corridor Project are well underway.
Others include the construction of a cashew nut processing plant in Prampram, rice production in Sogakope, and the upcoming renovation of the Kumasi Central Market.
Ms. Gala explained that trade between the two countries has been surging over the years. From 2002 to 2013, Brazil’s exports to Ghana surged by 515 percent while imports from Ghana jumped by 235 percent.
Brazil’s exports in 2013 were valued at US$296.07 million, with sugar and chicken as the main products, while it imported approximately US$63.4 million from Ghana, with cocoa and cashew nuts as the major traded commodities.
Recounting the bilateral relation between the two countries, Ms. Gala said the two nations have enjoyed very cordial long-standing diplomatic relations over the years, adding that “it underscores the reason of presenting Ghana to Brazilians in a way that will be appropriate.
“Brazil has a lot of companies operating in Ghana and has enormous experience in the area of construction, more specifically the affordable housing sector. This is the time for Ghanaian businesses to explore in the other direction,” she said.
Togbe Afede XIV, Board Chairman of the World Trade Centre, Accra, and leader of the trade and investment delegation, said it is very timely that the trade mission is exploring business opportunities in Brazil.
This, he said, puts a lot of responsibility on the delegates to tell the Ghanaian story very well.
He said Ghanaians have good potential for a win-win collaboration with their Brazilian counterparts, and that the country should not be seen as just any other African country.
Togbe explained that the trade mission is targetted at consolidating bilateral relations between the two countries while attracting investment opportunities for development of the private sector.
The mission includes companies interested in exploring business opportunities in a broad spectrum of economic sectors; particularly information technology, energy, agriculture and infrastructure.
Other areas of interest include auto-parts, aviation, construction, oil and gas, real-estate, textiles and transportation.
There will also be business-to-business meetings with Brazilian companies including JBS Friboi, Queiroz Galvao, Sabo and Stafanini.
The meetings will have keynote presentations on the topi, “The African Growth Cradle for the Next Decade”.
Emmanuel Doni-Kwame, Managing Director of World Trade Centre, Accra, encouraged Ghanaian businesses to join global organisations such as the WTC to enable them start enjoying the same quality services they can access in other World Trade Centres around the globe.
“Today, the WTCA is acknowledged by many people to be among the most relevant international organisations in the world, representing every major trading area in the world and servicing more than 500,000 companies in the field of international commerce,” he said.
Source: B&FT Online
