A GNA Feature by Andy Fosu (Back from Equatorial Guinea)

Accra, Dec. 2, GNA - Ghanaian entrepreneurs and companies that participated in the just-ended Solo Exhibition of Made in Ghana goods in Equatorial Guinea have secured promising business deals worth thousands o= f euros in that country.

The companies and entrepreneurs include Reroy Cables, Chritec Auto Engineers, Interplast, Cyndy Sleek Designs, Abu Brands Limited, Gratis Foundation and Happy Home Day Care Centre.

This was disclosed to the Ghana News Agency by Mr Emmanuel Quao, Sen= ior Export Development Officer of Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC). He said Interplast had in excess of 100,000 euros business deal confirmed and the corporate entity was pursuing a 1.6 million euros proje= ct with a construction company in the country.

Mr Quao said Reroy Cables and Interplast Company were targets for an energy related project which was expected to be funded by the African Development Bank and the World Bank. On the educational sector, he said the President of the Bioko Chambe= rs of Commerce, Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Gregorio Boho Camo, was firming= up negotiations with management of Happy Home Day Centre to establish an institution for the deaf and dumb in Equatorial Guinea. Mr Quao said management of Chritec Auto Engineers had secured a negotiation which would provide the opportunity for the company to establ= ish an auto workshop in the country to train Equato-Guineans and Ghanaians. He expressed optimism in the business deals and said he was hopeful the relationship between Ghana and Equatorial Guinea would grow from strength= to strength.

Mr Quao said economic prospects for Ghanaian handicraft, batik, tie-dye, screen printing and other textiles were high.

He disclosed that GEPC would organize a "seller's fair" in June 2011 during the African Union conference in that country to cash in on the eve= nt. Confirming the business deals and negotiations to the GNA, Dr Christ= ian K. Adatsi, Chief Executive Officer of Chritec Auto Engineers, said the stakes were high and expressed commitment to deliver good services in the country. He said he was engaged in negotiations with his bankers for pre-financing of the project. Mr Emmanuel Asiedu, Managing Director of Gratis Foundation, describe= d economic opportunities in Equatorial Guinea as bright and stressed that t= he country needed to diversify its economy to wean it from sole dependency o= n oil and gas wealth. Nana Baah Okae IV, Managing Director of Abu Brands Limited, a privately-owned Ghanaian export merchant company, cautioned exhibitors no= t to let Equato-Guineans down.

He said the citizenry, as well as the Equato-Guinean government, had trust in the capability of Ghanaians adding that the trust could not just= be jeopardized.

Nana Okae IV urged the exhibitors to demonstrate strong commitment, loyalty, trust, honesty and hard work to strengthen the bilateral relatio= ns that existed between both countries on the diplomatic level. The 10-day Solo Exhibition which began on November 22, 2010 was organised by GEPC with the support of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and in collaboration with Bioko Commerce, Agriculture and Forestry. More than 18 companies and organisations participated in the exhibition.

The companies included Domod Aluminium Company, Abu Brands Limited, Gratis Foundation, Reroy Cables, Chocho Industries, Kinapharma Industries Limited, Interplast and Greenspan Farms. The rest are Arms Clothing, Happ= y Home Day Care Centre, Continental Christian Traders, Cocoa Processing Company and Cyndy Sleek Designs. On Monday, November 22, 2010, Mr Gregorio Boho Camo, of the Bioko Chambers of Commerce, Agriculture and Forestry, at a business forum, laud= ed Ghana's diversified and stable economy, saying his country needed to imit= ate Ghana to develop her other sectors.

He said Ghana had great business potentials and rich experience in diversification that Equatorial Guinea could learn from to develop her economy and to wean it of sole dependency on oil. He described Equatorial Guinea as a country that was equally competitive and held business prospects for the Ghanaian business communi= ty both home and abroad. Mr William Ntow Boahene, Ghana's Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, to= ld the forum that 2010 witnessed positive events for both countries, citing the holding of the third session of the Ghana-Equatorial Guinea Permanent Joi= nt Commission for Cooperation in Accra. President John Evans Atta Mills visited Equatorial Guinea in May thi= s year, with a reciprocal visit by President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo to Ghana= in September. Mr Boahene said the trade agreement signed between the two countries= in 2004 had been reviewed and a joint trade committee would be set up to ens= ure the effective implementation of the agreement.

"There is no doubt that the opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries are enormous. It is our fervent hop= e that the fruitful cooperation between Ghana and Equatorial Guinea will become a model and show-case for South-South Cooperation," he said. Mr Kwadwo Owusu Agyemang, Chief Executive Officer of GEPC, said the purpose of the exhibition was to show-case Ghana and its products to that country and the rest of the world.

At a colourful ceremony to formally open the Exhibition, Miss Akua S= ena Dansua, Minister of Youth and Sports, told journalists she had flown into the country to sign a bilateral agreement involving the youth and sports on behalf of the Government of Ghana. She disclosed that at an earlier forum with President Nguema, he extolled the high level of development that Ghana sports had attained. Ms Dansua said the President had recommended that Equatorial Guinea'= s national football team should camp in Ghana in preparation for the Africa= n Cup of Nations tournament. Miss Dansua said that the Equatorial Guinean government was seeking support from Ghana to establish a National Sports Academy and to learn fr= om Ghana to meet the challenges of youth unemployment, training and skills development. Many Equato-Guineans expressed interest in Ghanaian products such as football jerseys, cocoa products, gari, beer, chocho products, Nkulenu's canned palm fruit base, kasapreko gin, pineapples and biscuits.

The replica jersey of Ghana's Black Stars striker Asamoah Gyan, was singled out for special admiration by the youth who visited the exhibitio= n site. Dr Kwadwo Owusu Agyemang, Chief Executive Officer of GEPC, said his outfit would establish a Ghana Trade Centre in Malabo to facilitate daily trade in Made-in-Ghana goods. Dr Agyemang paid a working visit to the historic site in Fernando P= o from where the legendary Tetteh Quarshie smuggled cocoa into Ghana. Mr Elias Ovono Nguema, Minister of Works and Industry, visited the exhibition and told journalists that he would be in Ghana in January 2011= to firm up bilateral relations signed by both countries in the area of job creation and industrial development. Mr Nguema said he was highly impressed with the quality products exhibited, adding that Ghanaians were versatile in producing authentic an= d quality handicrafts.

Madam Luis Echang, a daughter of President Nguema, became the topic for conversation when she paid a visit to the exhibition site. She made her w= ay to the exhibition site without being noticed but it took an Equato-Guinea= n to alert some of the exhibitors that she was part of the first family. Madam Echang bought Nkulenu's canned palm base product and a few ite= ms and later on made a request for a few made-in-Ghana products that were no= t on the exhibition grounds. Ghana's Ambassador to the country, Mr William Ntow Boahene, at a dur= bar of Ghanaian exhibitors, described the Exhibition as fantastic adding that the patronage had been comparatively very high.

He said Equatorial Guinean government had demonstrated commitment to the cooperative agreements both countries had signed. "Out of the 11 to 12 agreements of cooperation Ghana signed with Equatorial Guinea, three of them are being implemented," the Ambassador said. Mr Boahene said the exhibition marked the implementation of one of t= he three cooperative agreements signed by the two countries. The other two agreements are on air transport service and crude oil supply that are also being implemented.