The Ghana Embassy in the US in conjunction with the US Chamber of Commerce and the Whitaker Group, are the Coordinators for the major Investment Promotion tour of mainly the West Coast of the US, which started from April 16 to 21, 2007.
The Ghanaian team would be supported by H.E. Dr. Kwame Bawuah- Edusei, Ghana's Ambassador to the U.S.
The purpose of the Tour is to explore new business opportunities and promote partnerships between the US and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana.
It is also intended to serve as a prelude to the upcoming African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) forum that is scheduled to take place in Accra, from July 16-19, 2007.
The objective of the Investment Promotion tour, according to government sources, falls directly in line with government's agenda of not only establishing the necessary bilateral economic liaisons, but also creating a favourable environment to facilitate increased inflows of foreign direct investment as well as viable partnerships for the growth of Ghanaian SMEs.
Questions have been raised about the prudence of the Ministerial mission in the US considering the current energy crisis in the country and its devastating impact on businesses in the country.
But Mr. Kwaku Kwarteng, Government Spokesperson on Finance argued in an interview with The Business Chronicle that the energy situation should not prevent the nation from embarking upon ventures that would boost the nation's development through the AGOA arrangement.
Mr. Kwarteng said the nation was yet to benefit fully from AGOA hence the need to embark on ventures that would enable the country to enjoy its full benefits.
According to him, the tour has the potential of securing opportunities for boosting the export sector of the country, adding that the Ministers were in the US for official international assignments and decided to take advantage of their presence there to embark on the business drive.
The two Ministers and their delegation would hold business networking sessions and pay site visits to major US businesses in different sectors including Apparel, Information & Communication Technology, Financial Services and Infrastructure.
They would also hold meetings with officials of major US companies such as Boeing Company; Starbucks Company, Bill Gates Foundation, Levi Company, producers of jeans; Nexant Incorporated, Barclays and GAP Incorporated, an apparel company.
Link to allAfrica.com: Ghana: Ministers Tour U.S. for Business Opportunities (Page 1 of 1)
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