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Dr Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, the President of the Association of Ghana Industries, says the association is working with the India Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA) to establish an automobile hub in the country.

The hub, according to Dr Adu-Gyamfi, would train people in skills development to manufacture spare parts for domestic use and export.

The president said this yesterday at a Ghana-India business forum to explore investment opportunities, organised by the AGI, in collaboration with the High Commission of India and CMIA.

The programme was on the theme ‘Strengthening the Cooperation in Technology Transfer and Business Promotion’.

He said the association placed a high premium on private sector investments because it was an important component of the country’s competiveness and growth strategy.

Touching on the theme, Dr Adu-Gyamfi said technology had increased the ease of transacting business regardless of geographical location, urging companies to take advantage of social media and maximise it benefits.

He said transfer of technology occurred by concerted efforts to share skills, knowledge and facilities among institutions, to make it more accessible to a wider range of users, adding that AGI believed that technology transfer support from India would help facilitate economic growth.

He said according to the latest Global Competiveness Report, Ghana was ranked 93/140, ahead of all its peers in West Africa when it comes to technological readiness rankings.

“We ought to rethink technology to align with emerging trends in business in order to make progress. Strengthening bilateral trade relations between Ghana and India is one positive approach we could adopt, and this must be policy-driven,” he added.

Mr Kokil Prasad Laxmikant, President of CMIA, said their outfit was committed to partner with the association to expand business opportunities in entrepreneurial skills and other sectors for economic development.

Mr Laxmikant said their outfit was looking forward to invest in the country’s ‘One District, One Factory’ policy since they have a complete industrial ecosystem spanning from education, hotels, hospitals, tourism, among others.

He said it was their expectation that at the end of the discussion, there would be an end-to-end solution from their members in sectors of mutual interest to address the technology requirement by AGI members.

Mr Johnson Opoku-Boateng, Director, Business Development, AGI, said the association would host this year’s Ghana Industrial Summit and Exhibition from September 18 to 20, 2018.

He said the summit would provide a platform for industry players to share ideas on innovation and technology as a way of moving the private sector forward.

Mr Opoku-Boateng stated that the summit would explore the importance of natural resources and value addition to create finished products that were needed for direct consumption.

Mr Edward Asong-Lartey, Director of Investor Services, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, assured the delegation of an enabling environment for investment, adding that Ghana was the second largest economy in West Africa with market access of over 350 million ECOWAS market.

He said Ghana was opened for doing business, and urged them to explore in areas such as agriculture, manufacturing, education, ICT, health and energy.

Mr Ashong-Lartey assured the delegation of investment incentives such as guarantee against expropriation, custom duty exemption on plant, machinery and equipment.

“There is strong government support for investment, and our legal framework is transparent to ensure the success of every investor,” he added.