Ghanaian Government Urged to Do More to Reap More BRI Benefits

By Xinhua 

December 1, 2023

A Spotlight on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Some Ghanaian experts have urged the Ghanaian government to position itself well to reap more benefits from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China.

The experts made this call in an interview with Xinhua during a one-day special symposium on the initiative held Wednesday in Accra, the country’s capital.

Anani Demuyakor, a former Ghanaian ambassador to China and chairman of the Ghana China Friendship Association (GHACHIFA), said that although Ghana had attracted some projects under the initiative, the country needed more infrastructure investments to drive economic growth and must do more to take advantage of BRI to attract these investments.

Demuyakor said infrastructure will also be critical for Ghana to benefit from implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement fully.

“We must identify what we want because BRI is a big project. We must determine where to fit in. We have to package ourselves, and when opportunity meets preparation, things happen,” he emphasized.

GHACHIFA organized the symposium to bring together Ghanaian experts, scholars, and Chinese firms to delve into the benefits of the global initiative proposed by China ten years ago.

Paul Frimpong, executive director of the China-Africa Center for Policy and Advisory, a think tank based in Ghana, lauded China for its infrastructure investments in Ghana.

The expert said the BRI opened the opportunity for the West African country to up its game on how to engage with China because there is the opportunity under BRI to bridge the infrastructure gap to leapfrog to the next phase of economic transformation.

“We can not talk about economic growth without talking about infrastructure development. It is the anchor on which we can unlock our country’s potential. I think we have to up our game concerning our engagements with China on this issue,” Frimpong added.