Belgian Consul on Investment Drive

The Belgian Consul to Ghana, Mr Dimitri Avraam on Thursday called for negotiations to finalise an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) to encourage more Belgian investment in the country.

The agreement would seek to protect Belgium investments in Ghana and vice-versa.

He made the appeal when he called on the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang at the Ministry in Accra to discuss the safety of Belgian investments in the country.

Mr Avraam told the Minister that his country was trying to finalise an agreement with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCCA) to enable SABENA, a Belgian carrier, to commence flights to Ghana.He said the only bottleneck to the agreement is the level of royalties to be paid to GCAA since Ghana Airways does not fly to Belgium.

Mr Avraam said Ghana Airways has been given the opportunity to fly to any airport in Belgium.

Mr Owusu-Agyeman said the IPA was overdue and government would ensure that it is finalised to safeguard investments in either country.

"This is welcome, it represents a confidence building measure," he said.

The Minister said government was aware of Belgian investments in the country and assured the envoy of their safety.

He said the government was trying to make the Investment Promotion Centre a one-stop office to handle all investment issues and hoped that Ghanaians doing legitimate businesses in Belgium would be similarly treated.

He said the commencement of flights by Sabena to the Kotoka International Airport would be of interest to the travelling public since it has one of the lowest fares in the aviation industry.

Mr Owusu-Agyeman said bottlenecks hindering the commencement of the flights would be handled at the highest level.