TEHRAN (Iran News) – The Ambassador of Ghana to Tehran Eric Owusu-Boateng in meeting with Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Mr. Gholam-Hossein Shafei said Iran can launch production centers in Ghana and after removal of sanctions both countries can launch direct flight between Tehran and Accra.
In the meeting, Shafei said Ghana’s economy is considered as one of the advanced economic models among the African states and its economy is the biggest in Africa after Nigeria. He went on to say that the amount of economic growth of Ghana has been very considerable and this country attaches great importance to trade.
He noted that economic and political stability in Ghana is very excellent and this stability has created great attractions for cooperation. He stated economies of Iran and Ghana can be complementary, for example, Iran has great potentials for developmental and construction projects in Ghana while Ghana is important for Iran in the field of wood, rubber and paper.
Shafei went on to say that there are other grounds for bilateral cooperation like producing medicines, cement, tile, and textile and food industries. He reiterated that one of the major problems for trade between the two states is lack of enough information for the economic activists of the two countries from capacities of the two countries. He said in the current condition, setting up of the Iran-Ghana Joint Economic Commission can be very important and both countries should strive to launch this commission as soon as possible.
Shafei stated that the policy of new government in Iran is to pay great importance to economic relations between Iran and African states and one of the active chambers of commerce in Iran, Hamedan Province Chamber, has been selected as the assisting chamber which can have considerable effects on the economic relations.
He emphasized the ICCIMA supports developing economic ties with Ghana and expressed hope the esteemed Ambassador of Ghana would help this cooperation to continue. He concluded that Hamedan Chamber of Commerce has signed a MoU with Ghana’s Chamber of Commerce and expressed hope this MoU come into effect as soon as possible.
Then Owusu-Boateng, for his part, said that the political relation between Tehran and Accra is in the highest level and both countries have shown their supports in both some mutual interest fields and in multilateral issues.
He said Ghana has had exchange of high-ranking delegation with Iran but the challenge that the country is currently facing with is that it cannot turn this warm political relation into a warm economic one and both sides should remove hurdles in order to boost their economic relation.
He noted that both countries should engage their private sectors to resolve problems and it is possible through chambers of commerce. He added that the potentials of Ghana in the economic indexes is high and some of these indexes have encouraged the international businesses to enter the country and companies like Suzuki, Kia Motors and Hyundai have invested in Ghana. He reiterated that the existing security and peace in Ghana has caused Ghana to be chosen as the top destination for foreign investment and the private sector of Iran can also join the wagon.
Owusu-Boateng then said in those fields that both countries are keen to cooperate, there is the possibility for Iranians to launch production centers in Ghana. He said that Ghana can create a condition for Iranian goods exempted from tax in Ghana to be offered in the free zones of other African countries.
He also urged ICCIMA to hold an investment webinar wherein the members of chambers of the two countries would attend to explore challenges and find ways to resolve hurdles.
He expressed hope after the sanctions are removed, a direct shipping and a direct flight between the two countries would be launched.
The Ghanaian diplomat continued to say that Ghana’s Oil Company is ready to cooperate with Iran in the field of LPG and ready for investment.
