ACCRA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Ghana-China economic cooperation had reached unprecedented high levels and China could help Ghana add value to its primary product exports, says Ghanaian Foreign Minister Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni.
Before heading for the fifth ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) scheduled for July 19-20 in Beijing, Mumuni spoke highly of China's role in Ghana's development since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1960.
"China is a strategic development partner of Ghana, and throughout our relations for about over 50 years, a lot of developmental programs have been accomplished in our country with the active participation and assistance of the Chinese government and people, so we cherish our relationship very much," Mumuni said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
The minister said economic cooperation between the two countries had yielded abundant mutual benefits and opportunities, especially under the umbrella of FOCAC.
In 2011, bilateral trade volume reached 3.5 billion U.S. dollars.
Mumuni lauded China's financial investment in Ghana. With 12 projects newly registered between January to March, China topped the list of foreign projects in Ghana in the first quarter of 2012, according to Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.
"Chinese financial investment in Ghana is very significant for Ghana's economic development. It has brought in much-needed capital, technology transfer, creation of jobs, a competitive business environment, new markets, innovation, promotion of trade, etc. These advantages have ultimately contributed to Ghana's economic growth and poverty alleviation efforts," he said.
He noted that the "very low level" of manufacturing processes in Ghana are unable to make any real and significant impact on the Chinese market, leading to trade imbalance between the two sides.
"We believe that, if China will encourage more inflows of FDI into particular areas like value addition, we should be able to have the necessary quantities of mechanism to make an impact in the Chinese market and try to bring some kind of balance to our trade relations," he said.
The minister thus called for more Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ghana's value-added activities such as agricultural production and primary products for export.
"We believe that there is still a lot of opportunity to raise and enhance the relations between our two countries, especially in the area of trade and foreign direct investment into our country," Mumuni told Xinhua.
On the upcoming FOCAC ministerial conference, the minister said it was a platform to address bilateral and common challenges for China and Africa.
"The forum is very important because it actually sets the stage and platform for us to meet each other to raise issues of mutual concern with regard to our relations, particularly how we can deepen our trade, our investment collaborations," he said.
Expressing high hopes for the meeting, the minister said he believed the FOCAC mechanism would help deepen relations between Ghana and China, and remove some of the obstacles hindering further cooperation between the two countries.
"Respect, equality and mutual benefits are the principles guiding Ghana-China cooperation and the driving force for a lasting Ghana-China cooperation," Mumuni said.