Mr Sugandh Rajaram, the Indian High Commissioner, has expressed his country’s readiness to support Ghana in developing its rural economies.

He said India had successfully advanced its rural areas by promoting agriculture, computer technology, and energy supply.

“We can share our expertise with Ghana in the spirit of cooperation towards improving living standards,” he said.

The High Commissioner was speaking during a courtesy call on Togbe Afede XIV, the Paramount Chief of Asogli State, as part of his working visit to the Volta Region.

He said both nations shared a bond rooted in the days of the independence struggle from a common colonial master and through cultural connections.

Mr Rajaram said more than 16,000 Indians were operating in Ghana’s economy while thousands of Ghanaians were also in the education, health and ICT sectors in India.

The High Commissioner said leaders of both nations were working to maintain the existing relationship and had identified the SME sector and the development of the rural economies as priority areas.

“We have many Indian businesses, particularly the small and medium entrepreneurs. They would like to come to Ghana and see how they can work with the Ghanaian businesses to exploit the opportunities. We have a huge synergy."

“Our priority is to work towards priority areas. We are looking at the farming, manufacturing, and services sectors,” he said.

The Commissioner added that India was pursuing economic integration with Ghana as part of its engagement in Africa, which is centred on finding ways of building the continent into the “biggest economy” in the world.

He said the nation already prioritised Ghana in its establishment on the continent and was supporting key infrastructure development, including the transport sector.

The Commissioner said India was focusing more on building capacity of the human resources and the systems and would offer scholarships for young people and students to expand their scope in ICT, health and other areas of specialization.

“India will not stay behind when offers from countries like Ghana come up,” he stated.

Mr Rajaram said India was already investing in the Volta Region and would like to expand the presence of its farm businesses.

He said India had also developed expertise in developing tourism infrastructure and would seek to enhance the industry in the Region and the Nation as a whole.

Togbe Afede said the Region’s tourism potential remained its brightest and said the people were highly educated, hardworking, and hospitable, befitting a world-class destination.

He said the Volta Region was set to undergo massive industrialization with the construction of sea, land ports, and also railway infrastructure, adding that investors were welcome to help exploit its potential for the benefit of all.

Togbe Afede said the chiefs and the people were ready to work with investors and to provide the needed resources for the industrialisation agenda.