Ghana and Zimbabwe are expected to hold a business forum at the end of May, a platform to bring together business persons from the two countries in a development that is also expected to strengthen bilateral relations. The forum, which is expected to draw more than 400 participants, is being organised by the two countries’ embassies and will see business persons from the two countries share notes and identify areas of cooperation between the two countries. Preparations for the forum also coincided with a visit by Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe to Accra. She is also expected to meet both members of the public and private sector to learn from them how women in Zimbabwe can best be empowered. The forum will be held on May 31 2010. In an interview, Zimbabwean Ambassador to Ghana Mrs Pavelyn Musaka said preparations for the forum were at an advanced stage. She said she was liasing with Zimbabwe Investment Authority, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce from Harare and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre in Accra. “It is quite exciting because the forum is coming at a time when Ghana has just made a discovery of oil which is estimated to realize about US$20 billion in the next 20 years when fully explored,” said Mrs Musaka. “We are inviting members from both the public and private sector, women entrepreneurs, Zimbabweans in the diaspora to attend the forum. “The discovery of oil in Ghana’s Western region is also expected to assist downstream industries like those in the manufacturing, infrastructure, agri-business, construction, among others.” Zimbabweans will share with their Ghananian business counterparts their knowledge in commercial agriculture, tourism and construction, said Mrs Musaka. “Our embassy here is convinced that Zimbabwe has a lot to benefit, since Ghana imports 70 percent manufactured products and there are real chance of creating a lucrative lunch markets here for our small to medium enterprise and other businesses,” said Mrs Musaka. Trade between Zimbabwe and Ghana has been low and the forum will give a platform for the two countries to identify possible areas of cooperation as the two countries seeks to enhance trade and bilateral cooperation between them. “The coming of the Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe cannot be at a better time than now, as we prepare this forum. We hope that she will also share experience from both the public and private sector here on possible areas of cooperation,” she said. DPM Khupe was accompanied by Public Works Minister Theresa Makone on an official four-day visit where she will met leaders from both the public and the private sector. She visited Elimina Castle, in Central region on Monday, where there is a museum and she was shown a holding house for slaves while they awaited their transportation to Europe during the slave trade. Ghana has preserved the house and turned it into a museum and monument as it reflects the slave trade that saw many Africans being captured by Europeans to go and work as slaves. The DPM was in Bangladesh where she met Government representatives, central bank management and Grameen Bank in her quest to establish a women’s bank. It is envisaged that the women’s bank would lend money to women with no stringent conditions attached like requiring of collateral security. Requirement of collateral has in the past years been a stumbling block in Government’s efforts to empower the marginalised, as many financial institutions have demanded collateral as a pre-condition to lend loans. Source: www.theghanaianjournal.com