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Kasvi Batra
6 July 2025 |
The following note was earlier published in The World This Week #318 Vol 7, No 27, 6 July 2025
Prime Ministers visit to Ghana:
A step towards comprehensive partnership
Kasvi Batra
What happened?
On 2 July, PM Narendra Modi arrived in Accra, Ghana for his two-day official state visit.
On the same day, PM Modi met Ghana’s president Dr. John Dramani Mahama at Jubilee House. During the meeting, the two leaders agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Partnership with a focus on expanding cooperation in digital technology, infrastructure, people to people ties, and security collaboration. The two leaders also expressed their commitment to further strengthening the development partnership, especially through India led Infrastructure and Capacity Building Projects with India offering to share its experiences in health, pharma, digital public infrastructure.
On the same day, four key Memorandum Of Understanding (MOUs) were signed pertaining to Culture, Traditional Medicine Cooperation (Between Ghana’s Institute of Traditional Alternative Medicine and Indian Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda), Joint Commission Mechanism for engagement between foreign ministers and Standards (between Bureau of Indian Standards and Ghana Standards Authority)
On the same day, PM Modi was conferred with the national honour of Ghana - Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana - by President Mahama.
On the 3 July, PM Modi addressed a special session of Parliament in Ghana in which he highlighted the historical bonds between India and Ghana, and called for collective global south voice in global governance and lauded Ghana’s vibrant parliamentary system.
What is the background?
First, a brief note on Ghana and India’s relations and previous bilateral visits. India opened its first representative office in Accra in 1953 prior to Ghana’s independence and established full-fledged diplomatic relations in 1957. Both countries were founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement.
There have been various high-level visits between India and Ghana in the past 68 years - Some of the Presidential visits from Ghana to India include President Kufuor (August 2002 & April 2008), President Rawlings (1993), and President Nkrumah (1961). From the Indian side President Pranab Mukherjee in 2016 and Prime Minister Mr. P.V. Narasimha in 1995 made official visits to Ghana.
Second, India’s Developmental Assistance to Ghana. India has provided assistance in developmental projects to Ghana through Concessional Lines of Credit (CLOCs) and Grants. Till date India has extended around 450 million dollars in assistance for various projects. Some of them include Rural Electrification Project (2003), India-Ghana Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence for ICT (2003), and Jubilee House Presidential Complex (2008). India has also extended Buyers’ Credit of US$ 398.33 million for the Tema-Akosombo railway line in November 2016 and US$ 158.62 for the Tamale-Walewale Road Project, which enables Ghana to access loans from Indian banks to import goods and services, while promoting Indian exporters by mandating procurement fromIndia.
Third, India and Ghana’s Traditional Medicine Cooperation. In 2011 India and Ghana signed a MoU on Cooperation in the field of traditional systems of medicine and homeopathy with the objective of providing support in developing Ghana’s traditional medicine education and regulatory systems. Previously, Ghanaian students had received AYUSH scholarships to study Ayurveda and homeopathy in India. Further, Ghana’s Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR) collaborates with Indian researchers for herbal drug development.
Fourth, trade and socio-cultural relations between India and Ghana. . Indian companies like Tata, L&T, NIIT, and several pharma firms have significantly invested in Ghana, totaling 820 projects worth US$ 1.92 billion (1994–2024). India is one of Ghana’s top trading partner ranking with it contributing 2.67% to Ghana’s total FDI. India and Ghana possess a preexisting framework for cultural exchange programmes which were signed in 1981 and 2018..
What does it mean?
First, the deepening of India’s-Ghana Relations. Elevation of bilateral ties to comprehensive partnership and exploration of new frontiers in defence and critical minerals indicate a deepening of strategic convergence and a shared commitment to long-term, multifaceted cooperation.
Second, the visit reaffirms India’s west Africa focus . By promoting the idea of 'Security through Solidarity,' India shows its commitment to stronger regional ties, especially in a region crucial for its energy needs (like Nigerian crude oil) and minerals (such as Ghanaian gold and bauxite).
About the Author
Kasvi Batra is a Research intern at National Institute of Advanced Studies.
