INDIA-AFRICA SUMMIT HOW BENEFICIAL IS IT TO GHANA?

The first-ever India-Africa Forum Summit, has ended in New Delhi. India aimed to utilise the summit to create a closer partnership with African countries in order to address common goals and to overcome the challenges that Africa and India face in their socio-economic development.

The summit which was structured as a three-tier interaction between senior officials, foreign ministers and 17 heads of government from Africa, showed the importance India now attaches to the African Continent in its quest not to be overshadowed in the new partnership that other powerful countries and regional economic groups are developing with Africa.

The pledge by India and Africa to base their partnership on the fundamental principles of equality, mutual respect and understanding is a welcome relief to Africa.

The adoption of two documents. i.e. The Africa-India Framework for Cooperation and The Delhi Declaration should be seen as a major boost to the special relationship between India and Africa.

Ghana’s relationship with India dates back to the close friendship between Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana and Prime Minister Nehru. The bilateral relationship established with India during Nkrumah’s visit to India in 1961 has blossom into the current fruitful relationship that both countries enjoy. India has offered a lot of support to Ghana in the form of grants and bank credits for the development of the Ghanaian economy.

India has rendered considerable technical assistance to Ghana in its human resource development through various bilateral and multilateral programmes run by different departments/institutions of Government of India under Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) and Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plan (SCAAP). Various ministries, departments and Agencies of Government of Ghana have been utilizing 60-70 slots every year under India’s ITEC programme. The Indian governments also awards scholarships to brilliant Ghanaians in the undergraduate and post graduate levels to further their education in India.

ICT is now the backbone of any country’s development. The India governments’ $ 2 million financial assistance as well as technical know-how support in the establishment of the India-Ghana Kofi Annan ICT centre of excellence is a testimony of the special interest that India has in the development of the human resource base of Ghana.

The relations between the two countries reached their zenith when the Government of India provided a loan of $ 30 million to the Government of Ghana to build a befitting presidential complex. The complex which is being built by an Indian construction firm employs a large labour force from Ghana. It is hoped that at the end of the project the Ghanaian workforce on the project are going to benefit from the transfer of skill. The presidential complex which is being built at the Flagstaff House where the first president of Ghana had his office and coincidentally shares the same street with the residence of the High Commissioner of India. The Presidential complex would go a long way to signify the traditional bonds between India and Ghana.

It is my fervent hope that Ghana and Africa as a whole would consolidate the gains made out of the summit and open a new chapter in Indo-Africa relations.