Prez Akufo-Addo to host 2021 Presidential Business Summit

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will host and deliver the Keynote Address at this year's Presidential Business Summit at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra, slated for September 14-15.

It is an annual calendar event being organized by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in collaboration with the Office of the President and selected Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

A statement from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the Summit was to provide a platform for structured dialogue between government and the private sector on critical areas of interest to the private sector.

The theme is: “Public-Private Dialogue on the Role of the Private Sector in Ghana’s Post-COVID Economic Recovery”.

The deliberations in the Plenary Sessions will focus on five cross-cutting thematic areas: Fiscal and Non-Fiscal Incentives to Support Production and Private Sector Development; Foreign Exchange Regulation and Currency Stability; Access to Finance and Cost of Capital; Energy Pricing, Availability, Access and Reliability; and Supporting Local Industries through Government Procurement and Local Content Regulation.

This will be followed by Breakout Sessions for a deep dive into seven economic sectors: Agriculture and Agribusiness; Manufacturing; Construction and Mining; Financial Services; Information and Communication Technology; Tourism and Hospitality; and Transport and Logistics.

Deliberations at the Summit will feed into government’s Policy Framework for Private Sector Development, including the Budget Statement and the Economic Policy for the Year 2022.

The outcome will be a Ghana Business Compact, which will detail out specific priority areas of government policy interventions in support of private sector development.

Speakers include Mr Pierre Frank Laporte, the Country Director for World Bank Group; Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Senior Presidential Advisor; Mr Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry; Mr Ken Ofori Atta, Finance Minister; Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Energy Minister; Mr Charles Adu-Boahen, Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, and Dr Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana.