US, World Bank intensify economic cooperation for Ghana’s prosperity

The United States and World Bank have intensified their commitment to support Ghana in its economic transformation agenda to engender prosperity and job creation.

The US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, and the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Pierre Frank Laporte, made the affirmation to deepen their partnerships with Ghana when they paid a courtesy call on Trade Minister Kobina Tahir Hammond.

During the separate meetings, the Minister and the two visitors discussed ways to enhance collaborations in areas such as affordable clean energy to support Ghana’s industrialisation, bilateral trade, and entrepreneurship.

The Minister assured both the US Ambassador and the World Bank Country Director of the government’s readiness to further its bilateral and development partnerships with them in a win-win situation.

Mr. Hammond said the government had put in place the necessary mechanisms, including business regulatory reforms, to ensure good returns for businesses and investors in the country.

He also said the government would continually work with the investor community and all other private sector stakeholders to address their business concerns through dialogue.

He called on the US to extend the preferential trade agreement under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is expected to expire in 2025.

He thanked the World Bank Country Director and his team for working closely with the Trade Ministry towards a quick and smooth implementation of key elements of the Ghana Economic Transformation (GET) Project.

On her part, the US Ambassador announced that a US trade delegation was due to visit Ghana in August this year as part of a series of visits to the country to promote trade and investment between the two countries.

Mr. Laporte also reaffirmed the Bank’s support for the government’s job creation and private sector development agenda.

He called for technical cooperation to intensify and fast-track the national implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to harness its early benefits.

In March 2023, the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, visited Ghana on a three-day tour as part of efforts to reinvigorate economic ties between the two countries and announced that their administration intended to provide $139 million in bilateral assistance to Ghana for the 2024 fiscal year.

She also announced a $1 billion initiative to improve women’s economic empowerment in Ghana and other African countries.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, said Ghana had made advance negotiations with the World Bank for a $900 million budget support facility in three years alongside the International Monetary Fund’s $3 billion facility.