Govt would collaborate with private sector - Minister

Accra, June 23, GNA - Mr Allan Kyeremanteng, Trade and Industry Minister, on Wednesday reiterated Government's commitment to work closely with the private sector to accelerate economic growth. He said the Ministry would ensure that the private sector derived maximum benefits from the implementation of the Ghana Trade Policy, to create wealth, provide jobs and bring relief to Ghanaians.

Mr Kyeremanteng gave the assurance in a statement read on his behalf by Mr Kojo Afram Asiedu, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, at a press conference in Accra to highlight achievements made under the US-designed African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The press conference gave the Media a better insight into the deepening collaborative engagements between local and international garment manufacturers to assess the benefits that existed under the AGOA. In this instance, it was to highlight the mutual collaboration between Belin Textiles International Limited (BTIL), a joint venture company established under the garment initiative between a Ghanaian and a Mauritian investor, and the Global International Integrated Development Group (GIIDG) of the US, a marketing group and agents for BTIL products in the US.

The Global International Development Group has secured orders from Robinson Outdoor Incorporated/Whitewater, a US garment franchise to produce T-shirts for them. Mr Kyeremanteng said the collaborative efforts of BTIL and its US agent and the level of success so far achieved gave a clear indication that the various policy measures the Ministry was pursuing to promote the garment industry was beginning to bear fruits. He expressed the Ministry's appreciation to BTIL for taking up the challenge of spearheading Ghana's efforts to become a leading garment producing and exporting platform in the West Africa Sub-Region. The Minister lauded the market opportunity created for BTIL in the US by GIIDG and Robinson Outdoor Incorporated, describing it as "very significant". He said Ghana should strive to become a key player in the emerging textiles and garment market, to accelerate its aspiration of becoming a middle- income country.

Mr Kyeremanteng said that judging from the effort of BTIL and others in the sector, Ghana was making a modest but significant headway in the global garment market. He pledged the Ministry's continuous support to enable BTIL to respond appropriately to the export opportunities that were unfolding. Mr Berty Fong, Managing Director of BTIL, said the collaborative effort between both companies was yielding fruits.