• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana’, the country’s national honour on July 2.

• PM Modi received the award from the Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.

• The award was conferred on the Prime Minister in recognition of his “distinguished statesmanship and influential global leadership”.

• It is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Ghana in three decades. 

India, Ghana elevate ties to Comprehensive Partnership

• Modi held wide-ranging talks with Mahama, after which India and Ghana elevated their ties to the level of ‘Comprehensive Partnership’.

• ​Both leaders reaffirmed the warm and time-tested ties between India and Ghana and discussed ways to expand cooperation in key areas including trade & investment, agriculture, capacity building, digital technology, infrastructure, and people-to-people ties. 

• They welcomed the growing bilateral trade and Indian investments in Ghana. 

• The leaders also discussed strengthening defence and security partnership. 

• Following the delegation level talks, four MoUs in the fields of culture, standards, ayurveda and traditional medicine, and Joint Commission Mechanism for engagement between Foreign Ministries were exchanged.

India-Ghana Bilateral Relations

• India-Ghana relations have traditionally been warm and friendly based on solid foundation anchored in shared values and common vision. 

• India opened its representative office in Accra in 1953, prior to Ghana’s independence, and established full-fledged diplomatic relations in 1957, immediately after it attained independence.

• There is a sizeable Indian community in Ghana numbering over 15,000. 

• High-level visits have played a pivotal role in strengthening the bilateral relations between India and Ghana.

• India is among the top trading partners of Ghana and is the largest destination for Ghanaian exports. 

• Ghana has surplus trade balance with India, mainly due to huge imports of gold by India which accounts for over 70 per cent of total imports from Ghana. 

• Ghana’s other main exports to India are cocoa, cashew nuts and timber products. 

• India’s major exports to Ghana include pharmaceuticals, agricultural machinery, transport vehicles, electrical equipment, plastics, iron and steel, ethyl alcohol beverages and spirits, cereals, made-up textiles, etc.

• The exchange of business delegations in recent years has led to an increase in investments by Indian companies in Ghana. A number of Indian companies, including pharmaceutical companies,  have established their presence in Ghana. 

• India is among the top investors in Ghana. 

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