Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has called on global investors to choose Ghana as their preferred investment destination in Africa.

Addressing the Ghana National Day event on the margins of the Osaka World Expo 2025 in Japan, she said Ghana remains a strategic entry point into the ECOWAS sub-region and an anchor for Africa-wide trade, hosting the AfCFTA Secretariat.

She emphasised that Ghana is committed to sustaining a transparent, predictable and investor-friendly business environment.

“We want the world to know that Ghana is open for business, and more importantly, that Ghana is ready for partnership,” Ofosu-Adjare declared.

She added that Ghana seeks to leverage its strategic location, political stability, youthful population, and Pan-African trade platforms to become Africa’s leading business hub.

Highlighting government’s efforts, she outlined flagship programmes under the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, including the Accelerated Export Development Programme, Feed the Industry Programme, Made-in-Ghana Campaign, Rapid Industrialisation for Jobs Programme, the Women in Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Initiative, and the Free Apprenticeship Programme.

“Ghana’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai is not simply about presence; it’s about purpose. It is a call to deepen old alliances and to forge new partnerships,” she said.

Madam Ofosu-Adjare also reaffirmed Ghana’s strong bilateral ties with Japan, citing steady growth in trade.

“Our two nations have nurtured a relationship that continues to flourish across trade, culture, development cooperation, and diplomacy,” she said, noting Ghana’s exports of cocoa, gold and coffee, and Japan’s supply of industrial and consumer goods.

Vice Commissioner General of the Expo, Shigeto Shikeyema, commended Ghana-Japan relations, recalling that Dr Hideyo Noguchi first visited Ghana in 1927.

He praised Ghana’s participation in the Osaka Expo, which attracted hundreds of Japanese visitors treated to rich Ghanaian cultural performances.