India is seeking to deepen its commercial relationship with Ghana through joint ventures and direct business partnerships as 21 Indian companies explore opportunities across key sectors of the Ghanaian economy.
Mr. Manish Sharma, Joint Director of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said the ongoing buyer-seller engagement in Accra was specifically designed to connect Indian companies with relevant Ghanaian buyers and businesses and create opportunities for long-term commercial cooperation.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the second day of the programme on Tuesday, October 6, Mr. Sharma said the initiative represented a practical step towards strengthening the bilateral economic relationship between Ghana and India.
“The prime objective of the Federation is to handhold exporters and make sure that they get business in such programmes,” he said.
He explained that the broader objective was to enhance bilateral relations by creating opportunities for Indian and Ghanaian companies to work together, including through joint ventures.
“Indian companies can have joint ventures with the Ghanaian companies. They can meet their relevant buyers and from there on they can look for having prospective business together,” he said.
21 Indian companies target Ghanaian market
Mr. Sharma disclosed that 21 Indian companies were participating in the buyer-seller programme, representing a broad range of sectors and product categories.
The participating companies, he said, were engaged in textiles, food and agriculture, packaging, nutraceuticals, and automation, among other areas.
“This represents all these sectors, wide sectors, multiple product categories,” he said.
The programme, according to Mr. Sharma, was organised with the support of the High Commission of India and the Ghana-India Chamber of Commerce.
He said the selection of sectors reflected areas where there was potential for Ghanaian and Indian businesses to complement each other and develop mutually beneficial commercial relationships.
FIEO seeks to move trade beyond traditional sectors
Mr. Sharma said India and Ghana enjoyed cordial relations and that the current engagement was intended to identify additional areas where both countries could work more closely.
He said bilateral trade was “approaching about eight billion dollars,” while pointing to pharmaceuticals, textiles, and engineering as some of the sectors with further potential for cooperation.
“There are a few sectors where both countries can work hand in hand, like pharmaceutical, textile, and engineering; there are many to go,” he said.
He described the current engagement as a step in that direction, with the ultimate objective of creating sustainable business relationships rather than simply facilitating short-term meetings.
Ghanaian businesses urged to engage Indian companies
Mr. Sharma said his message to participants was straightforward: Ghanaian businesses should engage directly with the Indian companies, understand their requirements and identify areas where the two sides could work together.
“I specifically mentioned that the companies who are coming here should meet the Indian companies, look for their requirements, and see how both of them can sit together and negotiate and do some kind of partnership,” he said.
He said such engagements could provide a foundation for prospective business relationships between companies from the two countries.
FIEO ready to support exporters
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations, according to Mr. Sharma, was established by the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of India in 1965, with a primary mandate to support and guide Indian exporters.
Its involvement in the Ghana programme, he said, was therefore part of its broader effort to help Indian businesses identify international markets and develop commercial opportunities.
The organisation is using the Ghana engagement to connect participating Indian companies with potential buyers and business partners while exploring opportunities for deeper bilateral trade.
‘My first visit to Ghana’
For Mr. Sharma, the engagement also marked his first visit to Ghana.
He expressed optimism that the current visit would be the beginning of further engagements with the country.
“This is my first visit to Ghana, and I hope there will be many in the future,” he said.
The second day of the buyer-seller programme continues the efforts by Ghanaian and Indian business stakeholders to translate the longstanding cordial relationship between the two countries into concrete trade, investment, joint ventures, and commercial partnerships.
With 21 Indian companies representing diverse sectors participating in the engagement, the programme is expected to provide Ghanaian businesses with opportunities to explore new suppliers, products, technologies and potential investment partnerships while giving Indian exporters greater access to the Ghanaian and wider West African market.
Source: Joseph Kobla Wemakor
