During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Ghana—the first by an Indian Prime Minister in over 30 years—both nations significantly deepened their bilateral relationship, elevating it to a comprehensive partnership with a strong focus on defence cooperation.

Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (Economic Relations) Dammu Ravi highlighted that Ghanaian President John Mahama and PM Modi held extensive discussions centred on enhancing defence ties, with Ghana expressing a clear interest in India’s support for defence equipment, personnel training, and sourcing of defence systems.

This interest is driven by Ghana’s security concerns, particularly due to threats from terrorism originating in the northern and Sahel regions, as well as piracy along the West African coast. Ghana sees India, now a recognised leader in defence exports, as a key partner in strengthening its security infrastructure

President Mahama also conveyed his solidarity with India in the global fight against terrorism, unequivocally condemning the recent terror attack in Pahalgam and expressing support for India’s efforts against such threats.

Both leaders acknowledged terrorism as a common challenge and agreed to intensify cooperation in counterterrorism measures, with India already providing training to Ghanaian defence officials and looking to expand this collaboration further into equipment sourcing and technology transfer.

Beyond defence, the visit resulted in the signing of four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to broaden cooperation in key sectors:

Cultural Exchange Program: Promotes greater understanding and exchange in art, music, dance, literature, and heritage.

Standards And Certification: Agreement between the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Ghana Standards Authority to enhance cooperation in standardisation, certification, and conformity assessment.

Traditional Medicine: Collaboration between Ghana’s Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine and India’s Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda to advance education, training, and research in traditional medicine.

Joint Commission Meeting: Establishes a formal mechanism for high-level, regular dialogue to review and strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Additionally, the leaders set a target to double bilateral trade within five years and discussed expanding collaboration in areas such as digital payments, healthcare, agriculture, and critical minerals.

India reaffirmed its commitment to support Ghana’s ambition to become a regional hub for vaccine production and welcomed the African Union’s inclusion in the G20 during India’s presidency.

Prime Minister Modi was also honoured with Ghana’s national award, ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana’, recognising his distinguished statesmanship and leadership.

The visit marked a pivotal moment in India-Ghana relations, with a pronounced emphasis on defence cooperation, mutual support in combating terrorism, and the signing of key agreements to foster deeper engagement across multiple sectors.

Based On ANI Report