President John Dramani Mahama’s recent working visit to Japan and his active participation in the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) has yielded remarkable and concrete outcomes for Ghana’s development agenda.
The visit, which reaffirmed Ghana’s strong ties with Japan, saw the signing of new agreements, revival of key projects, and commitments aimed at boosting Ghana’s economy, infrastructure, agriculture, and technological advancement.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Ghana’s Minister of foreign Affairs and Regional integration, who is part of the delegation to Japan outlined 8 projects Ghana will gain from President John Mahama’s visit to Japan.
Here are the key accomplishments:
- Volivo–Dorfor Adidome bridge project revived: Both Ghana and Japan have committed to immediately provide additional funding required to restart the critical bridge project across the Volta River.
- Kumasi inner city ring road project: Work on this transformative project is set to commence shortly, easing traffic congestion and improving connectivity within Kumasi.
- Toyota expansion deal: A new agreement was signed with Toyota to expand its operations in Ghana and establish the country as its West African hub.
- Space science partnership: Ghana signed a groundbreaking agreement with Japan to leverage space science for national development, marking a new frontier in bilateral cooperation.
- Youth training programme: Ghana will benefit from the training of 300,000 youth in artificial intelligence, modern agriculture, green transition, tech startups, and biotechnology.
- Boosting rice production: Special cooperation anchored on the latest scientific research will support Ghana to increase rice production and achieve food security.
- US$100 million for agriculture: Ghana secured new funding to support agricultural projects nationwide.
- Strategic industrialisation Partnership: Japan is considering a dedicated US$1.5 billion investment in Africa, with Ghana positioned to benefit as part of a broader industrialisation agenda.
Okudzeto Ablakwa described it as “a proud moment to hear President Mahama articulate his bold vision for resetting and transforming Ghana during the two TICAD plenary sessions he chaired.”
The visit has been hailed as a major step in restoring Ghana’s global visibility and building strategic partnerships to accelerate development.
As Ablakwa concluded: “Ghana-Japan relations couldn’t be better, 98 years after Hideyo Noguchi sacrificed his life out of his extraordinary love for our nation.”
