Category: Ghana

  • Ghana – Turkey trade volume double

    Ghana – Turkey trade volume double

    By Lawrence Quartey

    Trade volume between Ghana and Turkey more than doubled to US$448 million in 2011 from US$175 million the previous year.

    Turkish President Abdullah Gul hosted a Turkish trade fair in Ghana/Photo/Reuters

    The volume is targeted to reach US1 billion by 2015 thanks to recent efforts by the two countries to strengthen economic and trade ties.

    This came up on Wednesday when Kenan Tepedelen, the outgoing Turkish Ambassador to Ghana bade farewell to the country’s president, John Evans Atta Mills at the Castle (seat of Government) in Accra.

    Tepedelen came to Ghana in May 2010.

    Diplomatic relations between the two nations, which began after Ghana gained independence in 1957, saw a dip in 1991, when Turkey closed its embassy in the West African nation citing economic reasons.

    However, both nations made efforts to renew and strengthen their ties, and Ankara re-opened its embassy in Accra, and followed it with the posting of a substantive ambassador.

    Meanwhile, Turkish President Abdullah Gul has hosted a Turkish trade fair in Ghana and facilitated medical teams on visit to Ghana.

    Gul and his Ghanaian counterpart signed bilateral agreements in the areas of Air Services, Health and Medical Sciences, Military Training and Science, mutual abolition of visas for holders of diplomatic passports and Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of consultations on political mechanism.

    He visited Ghana last March, leading a 150-member delegation, made up of business people and investors, legislators and academicians on a three-day African tour.

    Analysts say Turkey plans to double exports to Africa from the current $10 billion level by virtue of a new wave of diplomatic lobbying, which is expected to see that country strengthening its strategic partnerships on the African continent.

    via Ghana – Turkey trade volume double [50178966] | African news, analysis and opinion – The Africa Report.com.

  • Ghana, Turkey to sign trade agreement

    Ghana, Turkey to sign trade agreement

    658401659 595234Ghana and Turkey will by January 2012 conclude bilateral negotiations for a free trade agreement aimed at increasing trade volumes between the two countries.

    The Second Secretary and Charge d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy, Ms Ipek Zeytinoglu, announced this at the opening of the 2nd Ghana-Turkish Export Products Exhibition in Accra.

    Organised by Meridyen International Fair Organisation, the three-day fair which attracted more than 50 companies from Turkey representing various private sector businesses, ends on December 22, 2012. Among the products on exhibition are industrial machinery, plastic wares, detergents, woolen carpets, floor mats, confectionaries and automobiles.

    The exhibition comes on the heels of the 2nd Ghana Joint Economic Commission Meeting in Accra in October, which, among other things, charged the Trade Ministries of both countries to raise the volume of trade between the two countries to $1billion by 2015.

    In that regard, Ms Zeytinoglu said although the dynamism and entrepreneurship of the private sector in Ghana and Turkey had a primary role in enhancing our trade relations, an equally important role will have to be assumed by “our governments by providing an adequate legal infrastructure between our two countries and thus supporting our business communities”.

    Ghana-Turkey diplomatic relations started in the 1950s and has since blossomed. Ghana is considered Turkey’s third largest trade partner. Currently, while the country’s main export to Turkey include cocoa and gold, Turkey on the other hand, exports to Ghana commodities including stones, cement, metals, mineral oils, electrical machinery and equipment.

    The bilateral trade volume between the two countries amounted to $175 million by the end of 2009 and increased to $290 million in 2010, with that of 20 11 estimated to hit $400 million.

    Currently, the volume of trade weigh heavily in favour of Turkey, but Ms Zeytinoglu noted that to balance trade, “the business communities of our two countries will have to work hard and it is precisely the mutual organisation of trade fairs that will be instrumental.

    “From our side, we also urge the Ghanaian exporters to participate in the Izmir International Trade Fair which is organised every year in September in Turkey,” she stated.

    As an incentive to boost trade, she said the two countries also envisaged to conclude an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation.

    Mr Kofi Larbi, a Director of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, who represented the sector minister, observed that exhibition “provides us not only to strengthen the long-standing diplomatic ties and economic relations of our two countries but also to deepen trade and economic co-operation between Ghana and Turkey”.

    The search for export markets for products, he stated, had become very intense in recent times as countries all over the world were deploying considerable efforts to secure their fair share of the international market.

    He said the current focus of the trade and industry sector included the transformation of Ghanaian businesses and enterprises to become highly competitive create jobs and improve the livelihood of Ghanaians.

    For that reason, the director said the ministry was implementing policies including the Private Sector Development Strategy IT and a new National Export Strategy.

    “In line with the government’s broader objective of achieving a better Ghana for all, the trade and industry sector is committed to increasing international trade through an aggressive export drive based on improved competitiveness of local industries and enhanced competitiveness of Ghana as a business destination.

    He urged Ghanaian entrepreneurs to make good use of the opportunities that the fair would provide to create long-lasting relations between the two countries.

    The first Ghana-Turkish Export Products Exhibition was held in Accra in April 2001.

    via Ghana, Turkey to sign trade agreement | Business.

  • Ghana, Turkey in oil barter deal

    Ghana, Turkey in oil barter deal

    oil2Turkey says it has reached an agreement with Ghana to buy oil from the country through a barter scheme arrangement.

    News in the Turkish media seen by ghanabusinessnews.com says Turkey’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Zafer Çağlayan has indicated that he has had talks with two oil producing countries in West Africa – Nigeria and Ghana, and the two countries have responded positively to such an arrangement. The Turkish Minister recently toured Ghana, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, all oil producing countries. And while in Ghana, he was reported to have met Ghana’s Vice President John Mahama.

    Under the arrangement, he said Turkey will purchase oil from Nigeria and Ghana and pay for it by investing in tourism, energy, health and other infrastructure.

    Ghana officially became an oil producing country following the launch of commercial activities by President Mills at the Jubilee oil field yesterday December 15, 2010.

    Ghanabusinessnews.com has been unable to reach the Vice President’s office for comments.

    By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

    via Ghana, Turkey in oil barter deal : Ghana Business News.

  • Turkey to build refineries in Ghana

    Turkey to build refineries in Ghana

    oil rigThe Turkish government is to build refineries in the country to complement the government’s effort at refining crude oil locally.

    In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Trade of Turkey, Mr Zafer Caglayan, said the Turkish Petroleum Corporation and oil experts from Turkey would be discussing the details with their Ghanaian counterparts in the oil sector.

    He said Ghana had a good future and bright prospects, considering the thriving democracy and the abundance of natural resources in the country.

    Mr Caglayan said democracy and development were in tandem and that any attempt to downplay one affected the other.

    He said the culture of Ghana had united Ghanaians, resulting in their embracing democracy very early, compared with other West African states.

    He said the low quality of life in many West African states was due to the poor tenets of democracy in those countries and described Ghana’s economy as a thriving and shining star in Africa.

    He said it was in view of that, that Turkey had made Ghana its priority country in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Mr Caglayan said for a start, the Turkish government was working hard to further strengthen and improve upon the trade and commerce relationship between the two countries.

    The minister, who was travelling with a 15-member trade delegation from Turkey, said they were also exploring other areas to invest in.

    He said Turkey was expanding its frontiers in terms of industry and trade which included negotiating to purchase oil from Ghana, just as it subscribed to Ghana’s cocoa.

    Mr Caglayan said Turkey is a very big country when it comes to trade and in view of that, the government had put in place investor-friendly laws to attract people from all over the world to invest there.

    Source: Daily Graphic

    via Ghana News :: Turkey to build refineries in Ghana ::: Breaking News | News in Ghana | business.