The Diplomat
“Spain and Africa are linked for better or for worse, and I hope and wish that it is for the better, because there is also a great affinity between our countries,” said Ghana’s Ambassador to Madrid, Muhammad Adam, during the ‘Ghana-Spain Business Forum’ held on Thursday at the CEOE, with the attendance of Ghana’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong.
The meeting, organised by the State Secretary for Trade/ICEX, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), brought together more than thirty Spanish companies with representatives of the Government and companies from the African country.
The President of CEOE International, Marta Blanco, inaugurated the forum, underlining that it represents an excellent opportunity to learn about the business and investment opportunities that Ghana offers. She also recalled that, during the visit of the President of Ghana to Spain in 2021, another bilateral business forum was held at CEOE which opened the door to strengthening political and economic ties between the two countries.
Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, described Spain as a strategic partner that already has a large number of companies in the country. He stressed the importance of maintaining the collaborative agenda, with the aim of further increasing bilateral trade and investment in the near future. Finally, he expressed the hope that Ghanaian companies would also visit Spain to establish lines of business.
His intervention was supported by the detailed presentation made by the executive director of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Yofi Grant, regarding the business and investment opportunities that the African country offers to companies.
For his part, Ambassador Muhammad Adam recapitulated the visits of members of the Ghanaian government to Spain in recent years to underline the importance of these visits in strengthening economic relations. Among them, he cited the presence of the President of Ghana at the presentation of the ‘Focus Africa 2023’ action programme, for which Ghana is a priority country, and which demonstrates the desire for partnership and aid for Africa’s development in multiple sectors that are key to the country.
The Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, Javier Gutiérrez Blanco-Navarrete, said Ghana is a very relevant partner for Spain in Africa, as it is a democratic, stable country with a reliable legal system and offers security for foreign investment. Ghana is currently Spain’s fifth largest export destination in Africa, which, according to the Spanish diplomat, represents an important gateway to the continent.
The International Director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Jaime Montalvo, highlighted the willingness of Spanish business organisations to work with Ghana. He added that, in the current complex international context, the African continent can play an important role as an ally and strategic partner for Europe and in particular for Spain.
The Director General for International Trade and Investment, Alicia Varela, insisted on the political stability, the rule of law, Ghana’s skilled workforce and the country’s growing population and middle class as key factors for considering the possibility of investing in this country. He also pointed out that Spanish exports have tripled in the last 10 years. Finally, he commented that Spanish companies can help to continue developing sectors such as infrastructure, water, tourism and technological innovation.
