Ghana's delegation at the just ended 81st Izmir International Trade Fair (IZFAS) has held bilateral talks with the Izmir Chamber of Commerce on the need to advance trade development between Ghana and Turkey Acting Director of Export at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr Gerald Nyarko-Mensah, who let the delegation said, the visit sought to promote a working environment that would enable the two countries work together to fulfill common objectives of regional economic development and social advancement. He was accompanied by the acting CEO of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Mr Stephen Normeshie, the deputy Executive Secretary of the Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB), Ms Patience Acorlor and Ms Margaret Oteng-Adjei, who represented the Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei. Others were the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Export Development and Agriculture Investment Fund (EDIF) Dr Abdul-Nashiru Issahaku and Mr Hayford Baah Adade, of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The delegation was received by the Founder and President of the Chamber, Mr Asuman Nardali Tokus. According to Mr Nyarko-Mensah, Ghana’s economic and social development, and the strengthening of its democratic institutions ought to underpin on bilateral relations between the two countries. “Turkey is gradually becoming the largest trade and development partner in Europe and the Middle East, hence, Ghana’s desires to chart cooperative relations that would create a win-win situation for both countries,” Mr Nyarko-Mensah said. He said that the stable democratic nature of Ghana coupled with legal frameworks that encourage the growth of foreign business and investments had made the country a preferred business investment designation for many European business. “The increasing number of Turkish business in Ghana at the moment must serve as a test case for the Chamber to exploit”, Mr Nyarko-Mensah said, adding that, the relax tax regime for foreign businesses in Ghana had seen most of them outgrown to become multi-national institutions that had employed hundreds of local people. He also pointed out that Ghana has large botanical raw material base that Turkish pharmaceutical could use in their production. While appealing to the Chamber to consider the exchange of information between the two to advance trade relations, Mr Nyarko-Mensah said Ghana still remained the preferred business destination in West Africa, whose population stood at 250 million. The President of the Chamber, Mr Tokus, for his part indicated that, Turkey was considering Africa as a major partner for its Turkey World Expo 2020 fair and business forum being scheduled for 2020. He said that Turkey has always thought Ghana was a far away country in the Sahara, until Turkish Airlines chose the country as one of its flight routes. Fish export, he said also remained a major revenue earning sector for Izmir, which is the third largest city in Turkey, after Instanbul and Ankara. “We have subsequently written a proposal to the Ghana Chamber of Commerce to visit the country as a Chamber on a familiarization tour to better inform ourselves of available opportunities, but are yet to receive a response”, Mr Tokus said. The President also used the opportunity to dismissed assertions that the Western World only interest in Africa was parochial. The Western World do not necessarily go to Africa to exploit for profit, rather, they want to share experiences, knowledge and technology that would be beneficial to both continents,” Mr Tokus reiterated. He further indicated that Ghana had done well in the area of football export that had culminated in many Ghanaian footballers plying their trade in Turkey. “This is why we need to focus on building relationships as business people,” he said. Mr Tokus further appealed to Ghanaian authorities to as a matter of urgency established an honorary consulate in Izmir to further advance trade development between the two countries.