ACCRA, Ghana (CU)_The first edition of the Ghana Diaspora Summit was held on Thursday (24 June), seeking to attract foreign investors to come under one roof and position West African nation as the ideal investment destination for the next decade. The event was organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the Ministry of Information, the Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President, and several other agencies. The theme of the event was The New Normal, leveraging Diaspora investments to build back better.”
Participating in the Summit, Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta urged the country’s diaspora community to return home with their knowledge, skills and capital with the intention of assisting Ghana’s economic growth.
While there will be challenges in the process, the minister urged them to return with an open-mind, in honesty and optimism. “There will be challenges, but you need to exercise patience to tolerate the inefficiency in the system with the intention of helping it to be better. We will do all we can to help you settle in,” he said. According to the minister, apart from Ghana’s geographical location, the return of the diaspora community is strengthened by the sense of independence, unity, and freedom.
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, who also participated in the event, highlighted the diversified opportunities created by the Free Trade Area in promoting trade and foreign direct investment, while also inducing entrepreneurship, creating businesses and transferring new knowledge and skills. Accordingly, he advised investors to undertake larger regional projects instead of national ventures, since the former provides large, attractive markets with reduced cross-border barriers.
Accordingly, the Secretary General further noted that the positive developmental potential possessed by the diaspora community would assist in mitigating the development challenges faced by Ghana as well as the African continent as a whole.
