Accra, March 22, 2017 - An eight-member delegation from Japanese Embassy and JICA headquarters in Japan have paid a courtesy call on Hon Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance at his office in Accra.
The team, led by H.E Kaoru Yoshimura, Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, included Mr. Kazuhiko Koshikawa, Executive Senior Vice President, JICA-Tokyo and Mr. Noriaki Sadamoto, First Secretary, Japan Embassy.
Receiving the delegation, Hon. Minister expressed gratitude to Japan for the decades of cooperation with Ghana in various sectors of the economy.
Hon Minister said the government was committed to stabilizing the macro economy, hence the priority areas for now was to strengthen revenue collection and ensure value for money in government expenditure by strengthening the treasury risk function in the Ministry.
He said government was also implementing measures to restructure the country’s debt, all these measures were aimed at freeing fiscal space for growth and jobs.
The Minister said in addition to taking measures to revamping the agriculture and industrial sectors, government is determined to diversify the economy.
He took the opportunity to invite investors from Japan to take advantage of the peace and security in the country and partner government to make Accra, the Dubai in Africa, i.e. a conference and business destination.
Hon Minister commended and expressed appreciation to JICA for their years of support in various sectors of the economy adding that Ghana looked forward to a sustainable and effective cooperation between the two countries to accelerate her development.
Mr. Kazuhiko Koshikawa reiterated the commitment of Japan to assist Ghana through Technical Cooperation Projects; Technical Cooperation for Development Planning; Country-focused Training; JICA Partnership Programs, Grant Aid and Loan Aid.
He listed some of JICA projects, as of March 2017, as construction of a new Bridge across the Volta River on the Eastern Corridor Project; Strengthening Community based Health Services, focusing on the Life-Course Approach in the three Northern Regions; Project for Enhancing Market Based Agriculture by Small Holderness and Private Sector Linkage in Kpong Irrigation Scheme; and Project for construction of Advanced Research Center for Infectious Diseases at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research.
Mr. Koshikawa highlighted the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship Phase 2 and the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, where approximately eighty Japanese volunteers were in the country, the highest in the world.
In attendance from MoF were Hon. Charles Adu-Boahen, Deputy Minister designate; Hon. Abena Osei Asare, Deputy Minister designate; Ms. Yvonne Quansah, Director, ERM-Bilateral and Mr. Ali Mohammed, Head, Japan, China, Korea Unit.
Other JICA Officials included Mr. Koji Makina, Chief Representative, JICA-Ghana; Mr. Masanori Kurisu, Director, Africa Department; Ms. Akiko Komori, Deputy Director; Mr. Masashi Yamamoto, and Mr. Joshua B. Mabe, JICA Representatives. END
