Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur assured the business and international communities on Tuesday that Ghana’s economy is neither a mess nor in disarray. He did admit, however, that there are challenges, adding that government is taking the necessary steps to address them but will require more foreign direct investment as Ghana marches towards full middle income status. His assurance came in the wake of speculation in the Ghanaian media that the economy is in disarray. Vice President Amissah-Arthur made this announcement when Claude Maerten, Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Ghana, paid him a courtesy call at the Flagstaff House in Accra. An economist and former Bank of Ghana Governor, the Vice President said that development assistance would decrease significantly as the nation moves towards full-fledged middle income status. In view of this, he said, the government is putting in place measures to attract and retain direct foreign investments. He expressed appreciation to the EU for the development assistance and cooperation they have given Ghana over years, but stressed that further direct participation and other forms of incentives would be needed to enhance Ghana’s economic growth. Mr Maerten was optimistic that under the Mahama-Amissah-Arthur administration, the EU’s relations with Ghana would grow from strength to strength. He said the EU would be engaging the government in its core priority areas and over the role it could play to enhance the economy of Ghana. Also at the Flagstaff House to pay the Vice President a courtesy call was Turkish Ambassador to Ghana Aydia Nurhan. He described President John Mahama’s visit to Turkey last month as historic and key to Ghana-Turkey relations. After the visit, he said, he had received a request from the Mayor of Instanbul for a sister city project with eight communities in Ghana. Mr Nurhan also invited the Vice President to attend an economic summit in Turkey in April. Responding, Vice President Amissah-Arthur said Ghana has had long standing relations with Turkey, adding that in recent years, the relations have attained a high level of cooperation with Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Ghana about two years ago and President Mahama’s reciprocal visit last month. He acknowledged Turkey’s fast economic grwoth and said that Ghana is prepared to learn from her, adding that following President Mahama’s visit, more investors from Turkey have arrived in Ghana to explore investment opportunities. Earlier in the day, the Japanese Government assured Ghana of increased bilateral cooperation and support. According to Japanese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Toshiko Abe, who also called on the Vice President, Ghana remains Japan’s country’s trading partner in Africa. This, he said, is to Ghana’s enviable democratic credentials, which keep improving. Amissah-Arthur said he was happy that the already-warm relations between Ghana and Japan have been improving. The purpose of Dr Abe’s was to officially congratulate President Mahama on his election to the highest political office of the land and to express gratitude to the president, who once worked with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.