Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has assured French businesses to continue to develop confidence in the Ghanaian economy and invest. He said despite the short-term challenges that the economy was going through, the medium to long-term economic prospects for the nation were bright.

Mr Amissah-Arthur made the statement when he inaugurated the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ghana (FCCIG) in Accra. The FCCIG which was recently established in Ghana is an association of companies and professionals belonging to different sectors with the aim of fostering bilateral trade and investment between Ghana and France.

He said currently government was working hard to resolve the economic challenges, and that the medium to long-term economic projections were good. He noted that Ghana was also working to ensure that the sub-regional economic block, ECOWAS, was developed into a large market where investments could take place.

Mr Amissah-Arthur assured Ghanaian businesses that because of the FCCIG links to the French-speaking countries that surround Ghana, this can create conditions for Ghanaian companies to participate in the economies of these countries.

He said the ECOWAS Vision of integration is important to Ghana, and as such the nation will work to ensure that we generate the kind of programmes the EU has been able to achieve.

Mr Fredrick Clavier, France Ambassador in Ghana, noted that the deepening of Ghana’s democratic culture and the quality of its human resource, continue to inspire a lot of confidence in the Ghanaian economy. He said, in spite of the various reforms initiated by government, Ghana still remains the preferred and attractive investment destination in the West Africa sub-region.

He said the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry would help raise the level and the quality of bilateral trade between Ghana and France to about 1.7 billion dollars.

Mr Clavier noted that, at the moment, several French companies are actively participating in many sectors of the Ghanaian economy, such as agro foods, industries, banking, etc, as well as the signing of high valued contracts for the supply of electrical equipment or services, fibre Optics, mobile telecommunication and information systems.

He called for more Ghanaian industries in France through joint ventures, to increase growth and create employment in the two countries.

He said the objective of FCCIG is to have more French investments in Ghana, as well as develop the links between the SMEs in the two countries, to provide employment for the people.