Transcript of Special media briefing by MEA on Prime Minister's visit to Ghana (July 03, 2025)
India - Ministry of External Affairs
July 03, 2025
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this special press briefing on the ongoing state visit of the Prime Minister of India to Ghana.
We have with us Secretary ER in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Dammu Ravi, and we are also joined by Additional Secretary who looks after Ghana in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Sevala Naik Mude.
With that, I invite Secretary ER to give you a round up of all that has happened today after Prime Minister's arrival on his historic visit to this beautiful country. Sir, the mic is yours now.
Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): Thank you, Randhir, and dear friends, I would like to give a brief summary of Honorable Prime Minister's first leg of his visit of the Five Nation Tour.
Today he arrived in Accra, the capital of Ghana, in the afternoon where he was received by the President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama. He was accorded a ceremonial welcome with traditional music and dance, and thereafter Honorable Prime Minister came to the hotel where he was warmly received by a large Indian community. He was welcomed.
And later the leaders had a one-on-one meeting and then followed by the delegation level talks where they had the opportunity to review the wide spectrum of the bilateral relations. Both the leaders acknowledged that this is a historic visit for the fact that this is taking place at the Prime Minister level from India after 30 years.
President Mahama clearly acknowledged that it is a landmark visit that is very timely and very opportunistic at a time when Ghana is also looking for partnership with India to deepen economic engagement after its own economic rebound, recovery that it is facing having gone through the IMF conditionalities and restructuring.
Both the leaders have discussed a wide spectrum of multi-dimensional relationship. They acknowledged that the countries have similar trajectories in terms of their own evolution from the time of the liberation. They both had freedom struggle challenges, the colonialism and the legacy issues, the economic drawbacks that they faced and reiterated their commitment to deepen their engagement in all spheres particularly in the economic arena.
Few ideas and proposals that President Mahama had mentioned during the discussions were cooperation in the area of agriculture; where he sought India's support, the entrepreneurs to be able to develop Ghana as a food basket, provide food security to its people. And Prime Minister Modi had agreed to support Ghana in this endeavor.
The second item was in the area of pharma and vaccines. President Mahama is very clearly interested to create Ghana a hub for vaccines, and some development has already taken place in collaboration with the Global Vaccine Alliance and in that context, he wants Indian entrepreneurs to come and set up manufacturing units in the pharma and vaccine,s where India clearly has advanced its capacities.
The third area is in the area of defense cooperation. Here again there are concerns for Ghana in terms of security, terrorism from the northern region, the Sahel region and the piracy in the seas are of concern.
There is clear interest to have India's support in terms of support of the equipment, training of the personnel and to be able to source equipment from India which has now become very clearly a leader in defense exports.
There was also concern for the way terrorism is affecting the world. President Mahama clearly expressed solidarity with India. He condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attacks, and he was very clear and unequivocal in his support for India and the solidarity in the fight against terrorism.
The leaders discussed several other areas of cooperation, but I think I would like to underline here very importantly the idea of cooperation in the area of critical minerals where Ghana ... the President has offered India to collaborate in harnessing the critical minerals with India's investments and also processing capacities.
From our side, from the Indian side, the Honorable Prime Minister mentioned about the digital public infrastructure where India has been able to provide low-cost solutions which have been successfully implemented in the country and this could be used for Ghana, which is also looking at the opportunity in payment gateways across Africa and there is a clear synergy between India and Ghana in that area.
After the delegation level talks, there were signings of the Memorandum of Understandings, four of them. One to establish the joint commission meeting at the foreign office level. Second is traditional medicine where there is scope for both sides to exchange experts, training in that area. The third is in the cultural sphere, the cultural exchange program where again there's a hope that this will provide encouragement for exchanges in culture and tourism. And the fourth one is in the area of standard setting. Now all these Memorandum of Understandings are very important. They provide impetus for the relationship particularly in the sphere of economic collaborations and activities.
At the end of the talks, there were press statements by both the leaders and thereafter Honorable Prime Minister was conferred the National Award ... to Prime Minister Modi, the Order of the Star of Ghana for his global statesmanship and in recognition of his contribution to the global peace and stability and the role he has actively played in that arena.
Friends, Honorable Prime Minister will be interacting with the Indian community tomorrow. You know that there are 15,000 Indians in Ghana, very active. And their contribution to the Ghanaian economy and society was recognized by President Mahama today in his address. And they continue to play an active role in Ghana's economic activity.
Tomorrow, Honorable Prime Minister will pay homage to the leader, the first President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who is highly respected and regarded also in India because of a longstanding friendship with India since the 60s.
Thereafter, Honorable Prime Minister will address the Parliament of Ghana. We know and everyone understands the importance of this address for the fact that India is the world's largest democracy. And Ghana, too, has a very significant reputation as a very stable democracy and exemplary democracy for the world. With these few words, let me pause at this point of time. And if you have any questions, I'll be happy to take.
Thank you very much.
Tapas Bhattacharya, Doordarshan News: Sir, my name is Tapas Bhattacharya from Doordarshan. First, Prime Minister mentioned UPI and it can help Ghana. Is there any chance that we can have a linking of that with both countries' finance and services?
And also, Prime Minister mentioned the fact that Ghana actually, you know, said that about Pahalgam attack and actually spoken about against terrorism. So, if there is any chance of, you know, working together with Ghana and neighbor countries in counterterrorism sphere?
Alok Ray, Aakashwani: Sir, Mera naam Alok Ray hai, main Aakashwani se hun. Mera sawal hai ki aaj vaccine diplomacy pe kya baat cheet hui hai aur kaise Bharat Ghana ko is kshetra mein aur madad kar sakta hai aur vaccine hub ki jo ek baat hui hai, uske bare mein kya charcha hui?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi: Sir, my name is Alok Ray, and I am from Akashvani. My question is: what discussions took place today regarding vaccine diplomacy, and how can India further assist Ghana in this area? Also, what was discussed about the idea of a vaccine hub?]
Juliet Etefe, Business and Financial Times: Hi, I am Juliet Etefe with the Business and Financial Times. Of all the areas of cooperation you mentioned, you mentioned cooperation in critical minerals. And Ghana has a lot of critical minerals. So, if there are specific minerals, this collaboration we'll be looking at. Thank you.
Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): Let me first clarify to you that the importance of cooperation, collaboration between India and Ghana also has to be seen in the context of the Global South countries coming together.
And South-South cooperation, the solutions to be found by the countries of the Global South by way of sharing the expertise, know-how, and doing collaborations. And that's very important for us to understand. The visit of the Prime Minister to be seen in that context, in the larger context of the Global South.
Now on the UPI, the question whether how the linkages will help. Now let's understand this. The unified payment interface was a successful initiative in India. Ghana too is quite advanced in the way they are thinking in introducing the system. The Pan-African payment gateways is what Ghana is already looking at.
But expert level discussion should have to evolve further. I think we have to expect the discussions to continue for some more time because these are technical issues. And the recognition of the technology and being able to align the technologies is very important. I think we will get into details about these linkages subsequently. But this potential is enormous for both India and Africa to link through Ghana. I'll not further elaborate it. We'll let the experts speak subsequently.
Now working together in counterterrorism. Yes, as I said in my opening remarks itself, there is concern on both sides. Ghana too is facing the problem of instability in the Sahel region. And there's a fear that it might spill into Ghana. And the piracy on the seacoast is another concern. So, it wants to protect. And cooperation with India is important for its own sovereignty. And to be able to secure its borders.
Now this is a global concern. Terrorism is a global concern for all countries. In that sense, there is a broad understanding on the need to condemn terrorism wherever and whenever it happens. And there can be no let-up in the global action and the commitment towards it.
So, defense cooperation will lead to that in tackling. Because there are, when the defense dialogues take place at regular intervals, these issues will come up. We are already training the Ghanaian defense officials and personnel, specifically in India, in how they understand terrorism ... counter-terrorism within Ghana itself. So that cooperation is active. And it is now expanding further into the area of equipment sourcing from India.
On the vaccine hub, well, ek aapne jo sawal pucha hai vaccine ke bare mein to vaise to yaha par jo system hai, they already India se export ho raha hai yahan. Lekin President Mahama ka jo interest hai ki yaha par fill and finish concept manufacturing facilities agar hum yaha par chalu kare. Sirf Ghana ke liye nahi lekin West Africa ko jo market ke expand kar sakte hain. Hamara footprint waha bada sakte hain. Toh yeh hamara jo entrepreneurs already trading kar rahe hain medicines or pharma or vaccines, yaha ke setup karne ke karne se aur unka jo phal milega aur market expansion ka opportunity bhi milega. To wahi hai unka thinking.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi: On the vaccine hub—well, regarding the question you asked about vaccines, currently the system here already involves exports from India to Ghana. However, President Mahama has expressed interest in setting up fill and finish manufacturing facilities here. Not just for Ghana, but to cater to the broader West African market. This would allow us to expand our footprint in the region.
Our entrepreneurs who are already trading in medicines, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines would benefit from establishing operations here. It would not only bring tangible results but also open up opportunities for market expansion. That is the essence of his thinking.]
And in the larger context of engaging India in the pharma and vaccine space, I think this is a very good opening. This is a gateway. And we should encourage our entrepreneurs to be able to take advantage of what President Mahama is offering in terms of collaborations in the pharma area. This has become an important priority for all the countries around the world, particularly in Africa post-COVID. And we see that as an opportunity.
In terms of, Madam, you talked about critical minerals in specific, but I think this needs a bit more exploration, because Ghana, as we know, is endowed with very rich minerals. And that the world knows, which is why it is called the Gold Coast. And there are other minerals which are yet to be explored. And President Mahama has clearly mentioned that Ghana has several critical minerals still to be explored and exploited. And he has offered Indian expertise and entrepreneurship to come and be able to precisely do collaborations here.
So, we know that there are many possibilities here. It requires a study. It requires exploration. And then exploitation follows from there. Thank you very much.
James Amoh Junior, Ghana News Agency: Okay, thank you. My name is James Amoh Junior. Yes, I work with the Ghana News Agency. As we all are aware, trade volumes between India and Ghana reached over USD 3 billion. And as we may also be aware, Ghana has been touted as the citadel of trade now in Africa, so to say, with the African continental free trade area, you know, situated here. How is India hoping to leverage after to boost trade, but also to increase the trade volumes?
Nimama, High Street Journal: Thank you. My name is Nimama. I write for the High Street Journal. In your conversation about the setting up of plants, you know, the President launched the 24-hour economic policy, which is expected to run the country one way or the other, 24 hours. And ministers, some ministers, even the president himself, the chief of staff, have been to other countries like China to engage investors.
In terms of time frame, can you give us a time frame whereby we can see more of the Indian community grouping into Ghana and enforcing the collaboration in the terms of setting up of plants and all that? Thank you.
Blesa Suga: Good evening. My name is Blesa Suga. I'm a broadcast journalist with the Multimedia Group. I have a question on BRICS. Two years ago, the former president, Nana Akufo-Addo, exposed the idea that Ghana may be at the doorstep of BRICS, asking for membership, just as many other West African countries. President Mahama, during his inaugural speech, also appears to be following that line, adding that BRICS appears to be creating a new world order. Will India open its arms in the form of the kind of leadership that we've seen over the years, that you've played on that multilateral platform in accepting countries such as Ghana as members? Then also, this will be the prime minister's second visit to West Africa this year. Is West Africa becoming the new destination for Indian investment? Thank you.
Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson, Daily Graphic: Good evening. My name is Emmanuel. I write for the Daily Graphic newspaper. I want to find out, with the cooperation that has been signed between Ghana and India, I want to know how much of investments, monetarily, if that calculation has been done, is going into this cooperation between Ghana and India on the part of India? And what will the Indian government possibly be getting from Ghana with this cooperation?
Mabel: My name is Mabel from GBC. In all that you've mentioned, you've not said anything about the power sector. We know India is very big on renewables, especially solar. So right now with the crisis, a little bit of crisis that we've faced in the power sector, is India bringing on board anything?
Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): Several questions, but I'm trying to summarize and condense a few of them.
Now let me take the first question on the trade and investments here. Now, it's a very important item that was discussed in the delegation-level talks today. Clearly, both the leaders have set a very ambitious target, from $3 billion currently to about $6 billion target in the next five years. As you know, the balance of trade is actually in favor of Ghana at this point of time because of large imports of gold into India. But we would like to diversify. The leaders are very clear that there is a need for diversification of the trade basket. So, the target set for $6 billion.
Now, in the context of the Africa continent-wide free trade agreement, it provides a very interesting opportunity here because once you collapse your internal tariffs and bring uniform standards across the continent, then countries like Ghana could be extremely important and look like a gateway into the markets in sub-region context. Like the West African region, Ghana can be a potential gateway for us. You know, we have to strategize how we can take advantage of this development.
In terms of the investments, today India is one of the largest investors there. $2 billion of investments, both by the private sector, and India's own concessional financing initiatives. So, in the private sector, 900 Indian companies are operating. They're quite active, but their investments are modest. That comes to around $1 billion. India's lines of credit and grants put together comes about another $1 billion. But that is a very modest.
Now, once your investment policy becomes attractive, and it depends a lot on your own domestic policy, investment policy becoming attractive for Indian companies, it will naturally happen. I think one of which is, again, creating these hubs, vaccine hubs, the manufacturing facilities, inviting companies, tax conditions that you might give. A lot will depend on that. But there is interest in Indian entrepreneurship to go and explore precisely the markets in Africa and stable countries like Ghana is indeed one of the strongest attractions for us.
Power sector, this item came up in the discussion for sure. And I think both leaders understand that power is very important for development and growth. India's had in the recent times in the renewable space had set a target of 500 gigawatts. And we are very much going towards the target with a lot of confidence. We have successfully introduced a gigawatt scale of solar parks in the country. I think there is a scope for replicating those models in this part of the world. But it's, again ... the economics have to come into play. In the course of time, we'll have to see the industry interest, the offtake agreements that the governments will enter into will provide that kind of lure and attraction for Indian companies. So, we remain hopeful on that.
Now, setting up of plants and Prime Minister Mahama's 24-hour initiative here, again, there was a discussion in the delegation level talks. But I think there was learning from each other, learning from the examples around the world. And India, in some sense, had introduced this in the educational field, that you try to have more shifts in skilling, in colleges, I think in the medical arena. You could have more shifts rather than just a day shift. So, this was ideas exchanged between the two leaders. And President Mahama was very receptive to it, and he feels that Ghana can also position itself in those lines.
Now timelines, we cannot set timelines for any of this, but I believe it's market forces, the interests of the businesses will move and propel these kind of collaborations.
BRICS, again you talked about Ghana wanting to be a BRICS member. I think already if you see from Africa, you have already countries like Nigeria as a partner country, Uganda has joined as a partner country. I think the interest in BRICS is now growing. But again these decisions are not by one individual country. It's a consensus-based decision making, so all the member countries would have to agree, but I think it's again how Ghana takes it up with other countries for its membership, and we would be happy to support Ghana's aspiration to be a BRICS member.
The next wave of expansion, as and when it happens, because today we went through two expansions. One was in 2009 when South Africa came in as a member. And now we have the second wave, in which large numbers have become full members and also partner countries. The next wave we'll have to see when that happens, but I think we will definitely keep that in mind given our strong relationship.
West Africa is an opportunity. I think we have to understand again the West African geography and the natural resources that it possesses. I think in this belt you have extremely important rich mineral resources, including gas and oil, and some of which are not fully exploited because it's the same belt. Phosphate is another area. Manganese is another area. So, it's in the same zone that you're seeing opportunity here.
I think Indian entrepreneurs are actively looking at it, seriously looking at it, and many of them are traveling to this part of the world and exploring opportunities. We'll have to encourage greater commitment on their part and greater staying power in this region to be able to do enduring collaborations with countries like Ghana and others in the West Africa.
One last thing I would like to mention here is the Honorable Prime Minister Modi extended invitation to President Mahama to visit India at mutually convenient dates.
We would be very delighted to have this exchange of visit happening sooner. I think in the days to come, through diplomatic channels, mutually convenient dates will be explored.
I thank you very much for your patience.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you. With that, we come to the end of this press briefing. Please do follow us on our social media handles for more updates on the programs tomorrow.
Thank you very much.
Accra
July 02, 2025
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