The Austrian Ambassador to Ghana, Werner Senfter, has paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, at his office.

Receiving him, Hon Ken Ofori-Atta expressed gratitude on behalf of Ghana for the decades of friendship that had existed between the two countries, as well as the immense support given by Austria, especially in the areas of education, roads, interior and water and sanitation.

He stated that Ghana was now a pillar of stability with great economic prospects, and added that the country’s current real GDP was improving, with the inflation rate trending downwards, a positive sign that had seen rating agencies upgrade Ghana from negative outlook to stable.

He added that governments’ major agriculture project, Planting for Food and Jobs, has been well received across the country, with major strides being achieved in the fight against revenue leakages, as well as on corruption.

In his remarks, Werner Senfter acknowledged the compliments and expressed Austria’s continuous commitment to Ghana’s development.

He stated that the Austrian Government had helped Ghana with the construction of polyclinics in the Northern Region, Upper West Region and Brong Ahafo Region; provision of potable water to various communities; construction of pedestrian bridges; rehabilitation of the Adomi Bridge and the provision of Solar Street Lights, all to the tune of about €100 million.

Currently, he said a concessional loan of €13.5 million has been signed with UniCredit Bank for the construction and equipping of five polyclinics in the Greater Accra Region.

Also, he outlined earmarked Austrian Concessional financing for priority projects which included €8.4 million for the Phase 2 of the Upgrading and Enhancement of Technical and Vocational Training Centers (Sacred Heart Technical Institute, St. Joseph Technical Institute, Have Technical Institute, and Akwatia Technical Institute); €7.5 million for the Phase 2 of the Roads and Safety Improvement Project; €7.4 million for the Public Safety Communication System for the Ghana Police Service; and €8 million for the Supply and Services for the Enhancement of Nationwide Water Network Management.

Present at the meeting were Abena Osei-Opare, Deputy Minister (Budget); Yvonne Quansah, Director ERM-M, MoF; Adu Amponsah, MoF; Michael Bediako, Technical Assistant, MoF; and Danny Nana Osei Mainoo, Facilitator of Austrian Projects in Ghana.