High Commission of IndiaAccra, Ghana

High Commission of India

Accra

***

Brief on India-Ghana Bilateral Relations

India-Ghana relations have traditionally been warm and friendly resting on solid foundation anchored in shared values and common vision. India opened its representative office in Accra in 1953, prior to Ghana’s independence, and established full-fledged diplomatic relations with Ghana in 1957, immediately after it attained independence.

A. POLITICAL

Exchange of high-level visits: The first-ever State Visit of President of India to Ghana was on 12-14 June 2016, which helped further strengthen bilateral ties between India and Ghana. (The only other earlier VVIP visit from India to Ghana was that of the Prime Minister Narasimha Rao on 8-9 November 1995.) Shri V Muralidharan, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs visited Ghana from 6-7 January 2021 for the Presidential Inauguration of President Akufo-Addo who got re-elected in the Presidential elections held in December 2020. Earlier, Shri M.J. Akbar, MoS for External Affairs visited Ghana from 14-16 August 2017 for India@70 celebrations in Ghana.  Mr. Ajay Bhatt, Hon. Minister of State for Defence visited Ghana during 4-7 December, 2023 to participate in the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting (UNPKM) hosted by the Government of Ghana. 

From the Ghanaian side, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo visited India to participate in the Founding Conference of International Solar Alliance (ISA) in New Delhi on 11 March 2018. Earlier, President John Dramani Mahama visited India to participate in the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) from 27-29 October 2015. Other presidential visits from Ghana to India include President Kufuor in August 2002 and April 2008 (for 1st IAFS); President Rawlings in 1993; President Limann in 1981; and President Nkrumah in 1961.

Dr. S. Jaishankar, EAM met President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on the margins of the 77th UNGA high level week in September 2022 in New York. President Akufo Addo addressed the ‘Voice of the South Summit’ hosted virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13 January 2023.  The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong participated in the virtual session of the 2nd Voice of the Global South Summit on Friday,17 November, 2023. The summit was hosted by India, under the theme, “Together for Everyone’s Growth, with Everyone’s Trust”. 

There have been regular Ministerial level visits from Ghana to India. These visits since 2018 include:  Deputy Minister of Communications for the International Business Expo at New Delhi (22-23 February 2018); Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation for the World Sustainable Development Summit at New Delhi (15-17 February 2018); Deputy Minister of Trade for the Informal Gathering of Ministers responsible for WTO at New Delhi (19-20 March 2018); Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey for an official visit on 16-18 July 2018. Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources for the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention at New Delhi (29 September-2 October 2018); Deputy Minister of Energy for the 1st General Assembly of ISA at New Delhi (2-5 October 2018); Deputy Minister of Defence for Aero India 2019 at Bengaluru (20-24 February 2019); Deputy Minister of Energy for discussions with Department of Atomic Energy, Mumbai (27-29 May 2019); Deputy Minister of Road and Highways for the India-Africa Higher Education and Skill Development Summit at New Delhi (26-27 August 2019); Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs for Foreign Office Consultations on 28 August 2019; Minister for Railway Development for the International Railway Equipment Exhibition in New Delhi (21-23 October 2019); Minister of Lands and Natural Resources for the Kimberly Process Plenary Meeting at New Delhi (18-22 November 2019); Deputy Minister of Energy for the 2nd Global Sigma Summit 2020 New Delhi (9-11 January 2020); Deputy Minister of Energy for signing of MoU with Indian Oil Corporation (21-25 January 2020).

After the travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic was lifted, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong participated at the Raisina Dialogue from 25-27 April, 2022. Deputy Minister for Energy William Owuru Aidoo attended the 5th Assembly of International Solar Alliance in New Delhi on 18 October 2022. Defence Minister Dominic Aduna Nitiwul participated at the India Africa Defence Dialogue and DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar from 17-21 October 2022. Minister of Foreign Affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey visited India for UNSC Counter Terrorism Committee Special meeting in Mumbai and New Delhi on 27-30 October 2022. Maj. Gen. Francis Adu-Amanfoh (retd), Special Advisor to President of Ghana on Accra Initiative attended the 3rd Ministerial Conference on Counter Terrorism Financing NMFT from 18-19 November 2022 in New Delhi. Hon. Asei Seini Mahama, Deputy Minister of Health took part in the 6th edition of Advantage Healthcare in New Delhi from 26-28 April 2023. Hon. William Owuraku Aidoo, Deputy Minister of Energy attended the India Energy Week held in Bengaluru from 6-8 February 2023.  Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister for Information participated in the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on 2-3 March 2023.  Justice Patrick Kwamina Baiden, from the Superior Court of Judicature of the Republic of Ghana attended the 1st Regional Conference on Access to Legal Aid on 27-28 November 2023 in New Delhi.  A 17-member official delegation led by Ms. Pomaa-Boateng, Dy. Minister, Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation, participated in the ‘Knowledge and Technology Transfer’ program at National Disaster Management Authority, M/o Home Affairs of India, from 15-24 Nov 2023. Visit of  Hon. John Ntim Fordjour, Dy. Minister of Education, led a delegation from Education Ministry, to participate in the Education Knowledge Exchange Summit to be held in New Delhi from 14-21 February 2024. Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, participated in the 9th Edition of the Raisina Dialogue, held in New Delhi from 21st to 24th February, 2024. She also had a meeting with Hon. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India.

Parliamentary interaction: 

Hon. Mr. Cassiel Ato Forson, MP and Hon. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, MP attended the ‘Leader of the Future” Programme under India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in India from 23-30 April 2011.   Two MPs, Hon. Mr. Kwaku Agyemin-Boateng and Hon. Theophilus Tetteh Chaie attended the ‘Leader of the Future” Programme under IAFS in India from 13-20 March 2012.   Speaker of Ghanaian Parliament, accompanied by Minister of Food and Agriculture, participated in the Annual CII-Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership in March 2017.  A five-member’s Parliamentary delegation led by the First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Joseph Osei-Owusu participated in Mid-Year Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) held in Assam from 6-11 April 2022. The CPA delegation was joined by other MPs for a Study Tour from 12-20 April 2022.    A 7-member young MPs delegation visited India for the 2nd Session of the "Gen-Next Democracy Network Programme” of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) from 20-29 May, 2022.  An 8-member Parliamentary delegation to the Parliament of India Museum visited India from 7-10 May 2023 in India.

An Indian Parliamentary delegation led by Sh. Anurag Sharma, MP,  comprising of Members of Parliaments from Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha;  Speakers, Deputy Speakers, Chairman, MLAs, Principal Secretaries, Senior Officers and Officials from 21 State Legislative Assemblies of India, visited Accra  from 30 September to 06 October 2023, in connection with the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC).  

Bilateral Mechanisms & Agreements

Joint Commission (JC): An MoU to establish JC for Economic, Technical & Cultural Cooperation was signed on 9 November 1995 during PM’s visit to Ghana. (An Agreement on Economic, Scientific & Technical Cooperation was signed on 12 October 1981 during President Limann’s visit to India). A MoU for establishment of JC was signed on 13 June 2016 during the President of India’s visit to Ghana.

Foreign Office Consultations (FOC): A Protocol on FOC between the MEA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana was signed on 5 August 2002. The 1st FOC was held in New Delhi on 28 August 2019, co-chaired by Secretary (ER) on Indian side and Deputy Foreign Minister Charles Owiredu on Ghanaian side. Ghana hosted the 2nd FOC in Accra on 2 July 2021, co-chaired by Secretary (ER) and Deputy Foreign Minister Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong. The 3rd FOC was held in New Delhi on 22 July 2022, co-chaired by Joint Secretary (CWA) and Deputy Foreign Minister Kwaku Apratwum-Sarpong.

Ghana-India Parliamentary Friendship Association (PFA): An informal group has been established by the members of the Ghanaian Parliament.

Joint Trade Committee (JTC): A Bilateral Trade Agreement was signed on 12 October 1981 during President Limann’s visit to India. Accordingly, a JTC was established. The 1st JTC meeting was held in Accra in September 1992. The 2nd meeting of the JTC was held in Delhi on 20-21 January 2011. The 3rd JTC was held in New Delhi on 21 July 2022 chaired by Joint Secretary (FT-Africa) and Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry Micheal Okyere Baafi.  The 4th JTC was held in Accra on 02 May 2024 chaired by Hon. Micheal Okyere Baafi and Mr. Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Commerce.

India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS): Ghanaian President Kufuor attended the 1st IAFS in April 2008 in Delhi. President Mahama participated in the 3rd IAFS on 27-29 October 2015 in Delhi.

Annual CII-Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership: It has seen high level of participation from Ghana. Speaker of Ghanaian Parliament, accompanied by Minister of Food and Agriculture, participated in the 12th Conclave in March 2017. Minister of Business Development led a delegation to the 13th Conclave from 25-27 March 2018. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana as Guest of Honour led a delegation to the 14th Conclave from 17-19 March 2019. The Minister of Railways Joe Ghartey and the Deputy Minister for Trade & Industry addressed the 15th Conclave virtually from 22-24 September 2020. The 16th digital edition on 13-15 July 2021 was addressed by Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematan, as well as the Deputy Foreign Minister, the Deputy Minister of Energy and the Deputy Minister of Railways. The 17th Conclave held in New Delhi from 19-20 July 2022 was attended by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Mavis Hawa Koomson.

Air Services Agreement: The Agreement was signed on 25 January 1978. An MOU was signed on 7 December 2016. Accordingly, IndiGo has been designated as scheduled Indian carrier to operate.

Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP): A Cultural Agreement was signed on 12 October 1981 during President Limann’s visit to India. Cultural and Scientific Exchange Programme was signed on 5 August 2002 during President Kufuor’s visit to India. A Cultural Exchange Programme for 2018-22 was signed on 18 July 2018 during Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey’s visit to India.

MoU on cooperation between BIS and GSA: It was signed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) on 29 January 2013. A new MoU was signed on 18 July 2018 during Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey’s visit to India.

MoU on Tomato Pilot Research Project between NRDC & CSIR: It was signed on 18 February 2013 with funding from MEA. The project was successfully concluded in 2017.

Visa Waiver Agreement for holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports: It was signed on 13 June 2016 during President’s visit to Ghana. It came into force from 1 June 2021.

MoU on Cooperation between Foreign Service Institute (FSI) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration: It was signed on 13 June 2016 during President’s visit to Ghana. The building has been completed and handed over to Ghana in March 2023.

MoU between Government of Ghana and TCIL (for MEA): It is for participation in e-VBAB Network Project and was signed in August 2019. The e-Vidya Bharati (Tele-Education) component has been implemented since 2020.

MoU between IOC and Ghana National Petroleum Authority (GNPA): An MoU for providing assistance and technical expertise in the implementation of Ghana's National LPG Promotion Policy was signed during the visit of Deputy Minister of Energy of Ghana who led a delegation to IOC on 21-25 January 2020.

MoU for Cooperation between the Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP), India and the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC): It was signed in Accra on 2 July 2021 during the 2nd FOC.

Inter-Governmental Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy: It was signed in Vienna on 22 September 2021 during the Annual IAEA Session.

B. DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP

India has been supporting Ghana’s development by providing assistance in developmental projects through concessional lines of credit (LoC) and grants. (In the past Ghana was one of the nine West African countries under the India’s TEAM 9 initiative launched in 2004.) Till date, India has extended about US$ 450 million of concessional credit and grants to Ghana for various projects. Amongst them are: Rural Electrification Project (2003), India-Ghana Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence for ICT (2003); Jubilee House Presidential Complex (2008); Komenda Sugar Plant (2016) and Elmina Fish Processing Plant (2016). LoC of US$ 150 million for Agriculture Mechanization and LoC of US$ 30 million for UUpgrading of Potable Water Supply System in Yendi were both signed in April 2019 and are currently under implementation stage. Foreign Service Training Institute constructed with partial funding of US$ 5 million LoC has been completed and handed over to the Foreign Office in March 2023.

Grant assistance of US$ 1 million was provided to upgrade the India-Ghana Kofi Annan ICT Centre in 2016. Another grant of US$ 1 million was provided to rehabilitate the Jubilee House Presidential Complex in 2017. In addition to LoCs, India extended Buyers’ Credit of US$ 398.33 million for the Tema-Akosombo railway line in November 2016 and an additional US$ 48.84 million for extension of the track Mpakadan. Other loans extended under Buyer’s Credit are US$ 158.62 for the Tamale-Walewale Road Project and US$ 24.98 for establishment of Assembly Plant for agricultural machinery.

Capacity building is a strong pillar of bilateral cooperation. Ghana has benefited from India’s assistance in human resource development through the optimum utilization of ITEC and ICCR scholarships and specialized training programmes conducted under India Africa Forum Summit decisions. During 2020-2021, Ghana utilised 23 Defence ITEC slots and 30 ICCR scholarships. During 2021-22, despite Covid-19 pandemic, Ghana utilised 39 Defence ITEC slots and 34 ICCR scholarships. In 2022-23, Civilian ITEC courses were resumed and Ghana utilized 80 Civilian and 48 Defence ITEC slots, and 33 ICCR slots. In 2023-24, 121 civilians and 58 Defence personnel were trained in India under the ITEC programme. 35 scholarships were awarded under the ICCR Scholarship Scheme.

Ghana has also been a beneficiary of the Pan African E-Network, now called e-VBAB [e-Vidya Bharati (teleeducation) & e-Arogya Bharati (telemedicine)] Project. An MoU was signed between Ghana and TCIL on 26 August 2019 for participation by Ghana in the e-VBAB project to provide good quality, affordable and effective tele-education and tele-medicine services through specially developed web-based platforms. A state-of-the-art Learning Center has been established and maintained at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi at a cost of USD 0.1 million under e-VBAB project by the Government of India. The Centre was inaugurated on 13 December 2021 by Honourable Simon Mensah, Regional Minister of Ashanti Region. The students facing internet connectivity issues at their homes are open to avail benefits of Learning Centre for their studies and for giving online examinations. Ghana was the pilot country to roll out the project implemented in 2020. Over 1600 scholarships have been offered to the students of Ghana mostly specializing in professional degree programme.

Humanitarian assistance during Covid-19 pandemic: Indian assistance of 50,000 vaccines as gift grant was handed to Ghana on 5 March 2021. Earlier Ghana received 600,000 Made in India Covishield vaccines on 24 February 2021 as part of Covax initiative. Subsequently, on 11 May 2022, one million Made in India Covishield vaccines were received by Ghana under Covax.

C. COMMERCIAL:

India is among the top trading partners of Ghana and is the largest destination for Ghanaian exports. Ghana has a positive trade balance with India, mainly due to huge imports of gold by India which accounts for over 70% of total imports from Ghana. Ghana’s main exports to India are gold, cocoa, cashew nuts and timber products. India’s major exports to Ghana include pharmaceuticals, agricultural machinery, transport vehicles, electrical equipment, plastics, iron and steel, ethyl alcohol beverages and spirits, cereals, made-up textiles etc. The trade figures for the last recent years are given in the table below:

(Source: Department of Commerce, Government of India)

The exchange of business delegations in recent years has led to an increase in investments by Indian companies in Ghana. A number of Indian companies including Tata, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra, Escorts, Larson & Toubro, NIIT, Shapoorji Pallonji, as well as several pharmaceutical companies have established their presence in Ghana. Indian companies in SMEs sector and in agriculture sector are also increasing their presence in he country. According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Indian companies have invested in 870 projects aggregating to US$ 2.22 billion between 1994 and 2021. The FDIs in 2021 was US$ 93.84 million in 25 projects, representing 7.61% of Ghana’s total FDIs of US$ 1,298.66 million in 271 projects. The FDIs in 2022 recorded was US$ 66.34 million in 21 projects. In 2023, FDIs from India was US$ 77.93 million in 13 projects while in the first quarter of 2024 (January – March), FDIs for India was US$ 6.19 million. Indian investments are spread across diverse sectors such as pharmaceuticals, construction, trading, agro-processing, etc., and India is among the leading investment partners of Ghana.

The High Commission launched the India-Business Forum (IBF) in Ghana on 23 November 2020 to foster bilateral trade and investment. Mission organized two big business events, viz. India-Ghana Business Summit on ‘Strengthening India-Ghana Business Relations Post-Covid’ on 6 April 2022 in collaboration with Association of Ghana Industries and India-Ghana Pharma Business Summit on ‘Managing the Economic Challenges in Pharma Business’ in partnership with Ghana National Chamber of Pharmacy on 13 December 2022. A Boardroom Interactive Discussion was also organized by the Mission on ‘New Horizons for India-Ghana Trade, Economic and Investment Ties” covering various sectors on 29 February 2024.

D. SOCIO-CULTURAL:

There is greater awareness of India in Ghana through Indian soap operas telecast by local television channels. The first ‘Festival of India’ in Ghana - ‘Maitri’ was organized from 25 January to 13 March 2017, in collaboration with Indian Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts of Ghana. The International Day of Yoga has been celebrated in Ghana annually since 2015. Important occasions such as Unity Day, Constitution Day, World Hindi Day, Pravasi Bharatiya Day, ITEC/Partnership Day, Swachchta Abhiyan campaign, etc. are celebrated regularly with the participation of the locals and Indian community. There are 14 Indian and regional associations in Ghana that work actively to promote different facets of India's cultural heritage by celebrating various regional festivals and participating in events organised by the High Commission for cultural promotion.

A 20-member cultural troupe from Ghana participated at the 37th Surajkund International Crafts Mela in February 2024. Yoga classes are being conducted at HCI Accra on all working days. A 7-member young MPs delegation visited India for the "Gen-Next Democracy Network Programme” from 20-29 May 2022. Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, Vice Chancellor, Cape Coast University visited India under the Academic Visitors Programme of ICCR from 23 September to 2 October 2022.

Indian Community: There is a sizeable Indian community in Ghana numbering around 15,000. Some of them have been in Ghana for over 70 years. Some families are now the fourth generation in Ghana and most have acquired Ghanaian citizenship. Several expatriates are also working for MNCs and prominent local Ghanaian businesses as skilled workers. The Indian community is served by a Hindu Temple, a Gurudwara, and a Hindu Monastery, (the latter founded by a Ghanaian convert to Hinduism). ISKCON Temple (mostly run by Ghanaians) and Art of Living Centre are also active. The Indian Association of Ghana is the oldest association, which also has a community centre that organizes Indian festivals and cultural programmes. Indian Association make generous contributions to local community development projects and donations to charitable causes. 

*******

July 2024