PM Modi conferred with the highest civilian award of Ghana, signed four MoUs with the African nation, shared UPI’s payment experience: Details from his visit

Prime Minister Modi was conferred with Ghana’s highest civilian award, ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana’, on Wednesday (July 2). The award was presented by Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama for PM Modi’s “distinguished statesmanship and influential global leadership”.

This is PM Modi’s first visit to Ghana since he assumed the office of the Prime Minister in 2014. Besides, he is the third ever Indian Prime Minister to visit Ghana after Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

How PM Modi’s Ghana visit panned out

Upon his arrival in Accra on Wednesday, July 2, PM Modi received a warm welcome from President Mahama, who came to personally receive him at the airport. PM Modi was also presented with a grand guard of honour. This was followed by a delegation-level meeting between PM Modi and President Mahama at Jubilee House in Accra.

Prime Minister Modi thanked the people and the government of Ghana for the special honour. He further said that the “shared democratic values and traditions of the two countries would continue to nurture the partnership”.

Indian PM expressed pleasure over the African Union becoming a permanent member of the G20 during India’s G20 presidency. “It is a matter of pride for India that under our G20 presidency, the African Union got permanent membership of the G20,” PM Modi said.

Prime Minister Modi highlighted the enhanced trade engagements between India and Ghana. He said that Indian companies will cooperate in the exploration and excavation of critical minerals in Ghana. “Our bilateral trade has crossed USD 3 billion. Indian companies have invested 2 billion dollars in around 900 projects. We have decided to double our trade within the next 5 years. In the area of FinTech, Bharat UPI will share the digital payment experience with Ghana,” PM Modi said.

Major agreements signed in Ghana by PM Modi

PM Modi talked about increasing cooperation in many areas in Ghana, including investment, energy, health and security. He signed 4 four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the African country-

  • MoU on Joint Commission Meeting: To establish the Joint Commission Meeting at the Foreign Office level for institutionalising high-level dialogue.
  • MoU on Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP): To promote greater cultural understanding and exchanges in art, music, dance, literature, and heritage.
  • MoU between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA): intended to enhance cooperation in standardisation, certification, and conformity assessment.
  • MoU between the Institute of Traditional & Alternative Medicine (ITAM), Ghana and the Institute of Teaching & Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), India: To facilitate collaboration in traditional medicine education, training, and research.

PM Modi is currently on a 5-nation tour that began on 2nd July and will end on 9th July. The first leg of the tour started with PM Modi’s visit to Ghana and will be followed by his visits to the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, followed by visits to Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia. 

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