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Ghana is a preferred choice of investment destination -
Kufuor
From: Kwaku Osei Bonsu, GNA Special Correspondent,
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam, Oct. 22, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on
Wednesday urged Dutch businesses to look more to Ghana as
preferred choice of investment destination and enter into
mutually rewarding partnerships with their Ghanaian
counterparts.
A solid foundation, he said, had been laid for the take-off
of the private sector and what was required now was to
secure the necessary partnerships to fulfil the ambition of
accelerated economic growth.
Addressing the Dutch Chamber of Commerce at the De Bazel
Conference Centre in Amsterdam on day two of his three-day
high state visit to the Netherlands, he mentioned
agriculture, oil sector, railways, ports and harbours as
areas of the economy, where they could come in with their
money for long-term investment.
More than 80 Dutch affiliated companies have registered in
Ghana with the total volume of trade between the two nations
put at more than 400 million euro.
In sub-Sahara Africa, Ghana is ranked the fourth largest
trade partner of the Netherlands.
President Kufuor said with the country's abundance of
natural and human resources, the Europeans should come in
with their expertise and capital in partnerships that would
make them become more competitive.
He said it was time they all went back to the drawing board
as the world was becoming increasingly interdependent.
The Dutch Foreign Trade Minister, F. Heemskerk, pledged his
country's commitment towards deepening its trade and
investment relations with Ghana.
He noted that under the leadership of President Kufuor, a
stable, sound and investment-friendly environment had been
created in the West African nation.
Starting businesses in Ghana, he said, had now become easier
and praised the Government for its efforts at making the
private sector vibrant and the engine of growth of the
economy.
President Kufuor at another meeting with the Mayor of
Amsterdam, Mr J. Cohen, said he was assured by the visit
that the future in terms of Ghana-Dutch trade and business
interaction looked bright.
His country, he said, was looking for serious partnerships
based on commitment to ensure win-win for all parties.
Amsterdam has a Ghanaian population of about 9,000 and the
Mayor said the strong relations between them had been formed
on the basis of the lessons of the past.
The City and Ghana are well connected as they organise trade
missions to the country every two years.
"Ghana is doing well, a stable country in sometimes an
unstable continent," he added.
Meanwhile, Sitos Group, a Dutch Company operating in Ghana
in the cocoa sector, has announced plans to raise its
investment in cocoa warehousing in the country from the
current 30 million euro to 40 million euro.
Mr M.G. Versteeg broke the news when President Kufuor
undertook a guided tour of their cocoa storage and
distribution centre.
About 90 per cent of cocoa stored at the facility, with the
capacity for 225,000 tons come from Ghana.
President Kufuor earlier laid a wreath at Dam Square, a
memorial erected for World War II victims.
On parade were contingents from the Royal Netherlands Army
Mounted Regiments, 13th Battalion of Air Mobile Brigade,
17th Armoured Infantry Battalion, 101st Communications and
Information Systems battalion and the Army Band.
GNA
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