Accra, July 30, GNA - Vice President Aliu Mahama on Wednesday said the pursuit of a comprehensive policy framework and other support measures were crucial for Ghana to attract both local and foreign private sector to be interested in its economy and to boost growth. He said, while sound macro-economic policies were necessary, those alone could not sufficiently propel the economy on the path of sustainable growth.

It is in this direction, he said, that government was implementing a set of financial and policy measures such as the Export Development and Investment Fund, Export Credit Development Agency, among other things, to inspire investor confidence and build the necessary partnership and development for the accelerated development of the country. Vice-President Aliu was speaking at the launch and inauguration of members of the planning council of the Ninth Ghana International Trade Fair in Accra.

The fair, on the theme, "Charting New Frontiers for Trade Partnership and Investment," would be held at the Ghana International Trade Fair site from February 26-March 8, 2004.

Vice-President Mahama expressed the hope that the fair would open up the country as an attractive destination for trade, investment and development in the sub-region in view of its strategic location, political stability, peace and influence on the international political scene.

He appealed to Ghana's foreign partners and other foreign economic operators, investors and industrialists to explore the country's conducive business and investment environment.

The Vice President also tasked Ghana's foreign missions to encourage investors in their host countries to patronize the fair. Mr Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiatives (PSIs), reiterated government's determination to improve on infrastructure and provide the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

He asked entrepreneurs to exploit the facilities the government had put in place to enable them to start new businesses or expand existing ones. Mr Asiedu called on the organizers of the fair to allocate a special pavilion to products under the various PSIs in textiles, cassava and salt to encourage their producers to participate in the fair and as a means of attracting investment and trade partnership from foreign trade investors.

Mrs Esther Ofori, Chief Executive of the Trade Fair Company said the fair would pay a special attention to exhibition of Made-in-Ghana goods and devote a pavilion that would exhibit only top quality goods. She expressed the hope that it would realise more revenue than the last international fair in 2000, which brought in 250 million cedis in taxes and duties, 21.3 billion cedis from on-the-spot sales and 180 billion cedis worth of orders.

The fair would highlight Ghana's new investment and trade opportunities to the rest of the world in a bid to attract investment and expand exports.

It would also provide and sell the achievements chalked by the government in its efforts to improve the industrial and export sectors of the economy in order to alleviate poverty.