H.E. Sugandh Rajaram, Indian Ambassador to Ghana has lauded the Government of Ghana (GoG) for its handling of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, describing it as one of the best on the African continent and the world at large.
He said that the success Ghana has chalked in handling the pandemic and its associated challenges is phenomenal and deserves commendation and needs to be emulated by other African countries.
“Case management by the Doctors, social interventions and reliefs for the vulnerable, and the stimulus package for businesses coupled with the gradual opening of schools and now the opening of Airport being the first country to have opened its Port on the continent affirms it”, he stated.
Speaking at a media interaction as part of his first official visit, to the Western Region, H.E. Rajaram urged the government to consider building the capacity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), startups and agribusinesses for swift recovery of the economy and food security.
He called on the Ghanaian government to focus on mitigating the immediate effects of the pandemic and support the important elements of the economy such as given tax rebates and stimulus packages to businesses.
He noted that the African continent is the most resourceful continent in the world and therefore needs to build its human resource capacity since it has a lot of mineral resources, manpower and arable lands.
Touching on the bilateral relations between the two countries, he said the Indian government has given a lot of scholarships to Ghanaians to study in India because they place premium on infrastructural development and education.
He disclosed that close to 16,000 Indians live in Ghana playing their roles in the various sectors of the Ghanaian economy while the Indian government gives 250 scholarships annually as exchange programs to public institutions especially, in the environmental sector.
H.E. Rajaram stated that the Indian government is focusing on making India a global business hub and providing a high quality of education at a lesser rate to people from all walks of life.
He added that the Indian government is also trying to make India the center of the globe in terms of innovation, creative thinking and artificial intelligence (AI).
Story: Seth Ameyaw Danquah
