adminTurkey - Ghana Trade and Investment Forum
Turkish Ghanaian Economic Relations
by
AYDIN NURHAN
Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey
Accra, 9 February 2012
Honourable Mr. Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration,
Honourable Ms. Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry,
Honourable Mr. Seth Adjei-Baah, President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Mr. Nana Owusu-Afari, President of the Association of Ghana Industries,
Mr. Abdülkadir Kahraman, Vice President of the Confederation of Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON),
Mr. Salih Timurtaş, President of the Ghana-Turkey Cooperation and Development Association,
Distinguished members of the Turkish and Ghanaian business communities,
Members of the press,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is indeed an honour for me to address the “Turkey-Ghana Trade and Investment Forum” shortly after I took up my duties as Turkish Ambassador to Ghana. I would like to welcome our guests from Turkey, and thank our Ghanaian friends for their warm hospitality.
As I am in my first month in Accra, my first impressions are that, if my gut feelings lead me correctly, this country is on the path of being another Singapore or Dubai, a center of excellence for Western Africa, perhaps the African Continent. Just as Ghana was the beacon of freedom for Africa under late President Nkrumah, it can be the exemplar for economic development for the continent. I congratulate the leaders and the people of Ghana for their democracy and stability endowing their record breaking 13.6% economic development, a world record.
Another impression for me was the brainpower of the universities of Ghana, factories of quality human resources in 21st Century. Beyond the natural resources, which sometimes kill other economic fields and become a curse on economies, educated human resources are the most important factors in global economic competition. Here I would like to stop and urge Turkish business community to encourage Turkish university, and post-grad students to world class Ghanaian Universities so that we Turks know our African brothers and sisters at the grassroots.
It seems that the Foreign Direct Investments which have increased by more that %500 in 2011 is mostly due to quality human resources, added to democracy and stability which international capital loves. Of course, we should add to these factors the peaceloving, friendly people of Ghana, who create the most hospitable environment for foreign investers.
Another observation for a newcomer, the cars on the streets of Accra are new and good models, beautiful, new highways are already locked by traffic, and more are urgently needed. And supermarkets and shopping malls are crowded too, many a time hard to get in and out, and to park.
As against pessimistic views on income distribution, and assertions that wealth is collected in a very narrow elite, what I see is a strong purchasing power in a wider population in Accra. What strengthens my view about a strong middle class is emerging, is the rocketing land and housing prices and rents in this country, boosted both by the local entrepreneurs and foreign investers and workers swarming into this booming country, in a way reminding me of Saudi Arabia of the Eighties.
We see Ghana as one of the most promising countries in West Africa, a country with a very bright future and we wish to co-operate with Ghana in political, economic, educational and cultural fields. That is why we have reopened our Embassy two years ago and the reason our President, H.E. Mr. Abdullah Gül, then Mr. Zafer Çağlayan, our Minister of State in charge of Foreign Trade, and our businessmen groups visited Ghana, and Ghanaian Ministers and business groups also visited Turkey many times in short while.
We had two Joint Economic Commission Meetings already, and I am happy to announce that our Third Meeting will take place in Erzurum in Turkey on 29 February- 2 March 2012.
Our reciprocal visits are accelerating, and TUSCON promised to give me their photographer to get the most seducing photographs and videos of Accra to attract Turkish entrepreneurs and investers to flow into this country. I would appreciate if Ghanaian authorities would be kind enough to give us a guide in making our “Ghana Seduces” ad as a joint project.
Our joint intention is to bring the bilateral trade volume to 1 billion US dollars by the end of 2015, and I believe, with this speed, it is feasible. Especially taking into consideration that our bilateral trade volume has reached 514 million US Dollars in 2011, which represents an increase of 76 % over 2010, when this volume was 290 million. With Turkish exports to Ghana amounting to 220 million US Dollars, and Ghanaian exports to Turkey amounting to 292 million US Dollars, the balance is in favour of Ghana. This is a situation we welcome, because we wish to buy from you, and establish a “win-win” relationship.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Very few people know that Turkey is a member of the European Union since 1996!
When I say this, many people get puzzled, yet it is a fact. Turkey is not politically a member, yet has been a member of the Customs Union with the EU since sixteen years. This means that Turkish goods have to meet EU standards, because more than half of our products are exported to Europe.
As we produce in European Standards, our quality is European quality, yet our prices are competing with China, indeed a bit more expensive, given the European standard.
Seeing the most important factor as infrastructure in Ghana, I would say that our construction sector is ranking second in the world behind China. We have made airports, turn-key in six months, showing our diligence and quality in construction world. For Ghana special, especially in sewage systmes where intense labour is needed and helping reduce unemployment, Turkish construction companies can play a constructive role in Ghana.
Having Turkish businesspeople with us today, I would like to encourage them not only to trade, but also invest heavily in this booming country in various fields, including, agriculture, health, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure and so on.
We would also like to encourage businesses to explore opportunities that arise from the public-private initiative framework recently adopted by Ghana, which could be a very good opportunity for both sides..
Be assured that the Turkish Embassy stands ready to assist Ghanaian businesses interested in Turkey, as well as Turkish businessmen interested in Ghana. There is no protocol at the Embassy, just call my PA one hour earlier before you come, so as to make sure I am in my office.
I would also take this opportunity to call on the Honourable Ministers to communicate to us any project or sector, where they believe Turkish-Ghanaian cooperation could make a difference.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before ending my speech, I would like to thank once again our Honourable Ministers supporting us, and our Ghanaian hosts for joining us today, and last, but not least, like to pay tribute to the dynamism of the private sectors of both countries.
Indeed, the intensification in our bilateral economic relations is not only due to political will, but to the hard work of our businessmen, and I would like to congratulate especially TUSKON for all their successful initiatives to this end. I am sure that our exploration in these pioneering years, shall be crowned by joint welfare for our peoples sooner than expected.
Thank you.
