Ghana Expo 2008 Committee inaugurated

Page 38, May 8, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
A DEPUTY Minister of Trade, Industry, PSI and PSD, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has stated that Ghana needs to take concrete steps to address all constraints that have plagued the non-traditional export sector.
He said for Ghana to achieve its long-term vision of becoming a middle-income country and a leading agro-industrial country in Africa, it should be able to produce items in large volumes and at competitive prices for export.
“We need to develop new markets for our products and services,” Mr Agyeman-Manu said, when he inaugurated an eight-member local organising committee of the maiden Ghana Expo 2008 to be held in Italy.
The fair is being organised by the Ghana-Italy Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the ministries of Trade and Foreign Affairs, Ghana Export Promotion Centre, Ghana Trade Fair Centre and the Ghana Embassy in Rome, among other agencies.
It would be organised on the theme: “Strengthening Ghana-Italy relations through trade” from September 13 to September 21, 2008 in the Italian city of Bergamo.
Inaugurating the committee, Mr Agyeman-Manu noted that Ghana and Italy had enjoyed good trade and economic relations over the years.
He said between September 1994 and September 2005, Italians established as many as 76 companies in the country while Ghanaian companies also participated in various fairs organised in Italy.
Mr Agyeman-Manu stated, however, that despite these developments, trade between the two countries had remained largely in favour of Italy.
He added that the Ghana Expo 2008, which would showcase Ghanaian products in Italy, was therefore a welcome development that would go a long way to reduce the trade imbalance.
“I, therefore, urge the chamber to do its homework well to ensure a successful fair,” he said, and gave the assurance that the ministry would always support such private initiatives for expanding the frontiers of Ghana’s export trade through such fairs and exhibitions.
In his address, the Chairman of the Ghana-Italy Chamber of Commerce, Alhaji Ramadan Murtala Mohammed, said the objective of the chamber was to protect economic and trade relations between Ghana and Italy.
He disclosed that during the Expo, there would be an exhibition of made-in-Ghana goods, food fair, cultural show and a business forum, which would be attended by over 1,000 Italian businessmen.
Alhaji Mohammed said the chamber was working around the clock to enable the fair to become an annual affair and called on entrepreneurs to take advantage to market their products in Italy.
The chairman of the organising committee, Mr Tapha B. Tassah, appealed to the various ministries, departments and agencies, whose services and support would be required to give the chamber the needed co-operation to make the organisation of the fair successful.
The Honorary Ghana Consul in Milan, Italy, Dr Marcello Moro, who chaired the function, said there were a lot of opportunities in Italy for Ghanaian businessmen to exploit.
He called on Ghanaian entrepreneurs to study the world market and come out with new products that would enable Ghana to earn enough income to become an economic giant in Africa.