Bilateral trade between India and Ghana has hit US$3.25 billion in the first half of the 2025-26 Indian financial year, setting both nations on course for a record-breaking year, High Commissioner of India to Ghana, Manish Gupta, has revealed.

“Within the current Indian financial year [April 1 to September 30, 2025] first half, our bilateral trade has already surpassed the US$3billion mark,” he said, reiterating both governments’ commitment to doubling this figure within the next five years.

Gupta made the remarks at the India-Ghana Business Conclave in Accra, noting that the strong pace of engagement and renewed cooperation between the two countries could allow them to achieve this target sooner than expected.

He described the present stage of India–Ghana relations as “a qualitative transformation”, highlighting the July 2025 state visit of India’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, which elevated ties to a comprehensive partnership.

“Ghana has become a preferred gateway for Indian investments in the West African sub-region. Nearly US$2billion in FDI across over 900 projects and another US$1billion through concessional LOCs and Buyers’ Credit at the intergovernmental level have flowed into Ghana over the last two decades, making it a prime economic partner,” he said.

Gupta emphasized that India’s expertise in agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, mining, skills development, and renewable energy directly aligns with the priorities of the Mahama administration, adding that:

“India stands ready to work with Ghana in advancing the Reset Ghana agenda.”

He also stressed that India’s development cooperation is demand-driven, focusing on building local capacity and creating opportunities within Ghana.

“Our approach is not just to invest but also empower. Together, we progress in an environment of trust and collaboration,” he said.

Gupta highlighted India’s Digital Public Infrastructure, particularly the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), as a potential avenue for collaboration to improve transparency, efficiency, and digital inclusion in Ghana.

“India’s UPI is the single largest platform for digital transactions, accounting for nearly half of global real-time transactions in volume terms. Linking it with the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System and Pan-African Payment and Settlement System would facilitate ease of banking and faster transactions,” he said.

The conclave, held in partnership with the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), brought together government officials, business leaders, Indian companies, and trade associations.

For his part, Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, Augustus ‘Goosie’ Tanoh, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening economic ties with India. He also highlighted priority sectors such as agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, ICT, infrastructure, and SMEs.

He urged Indian firms to explore business and investment opportunities under Ghana’s 24H+ Programme, emphasizing avenues for inclusive and sustainable growth.

Meanwhile, President John Mahama has stressed the need for countries to abide by international trade regulations and not impose unilateral tariffs, cautioning that such actions threaten global prosperity.He made the point at the Jubilee house after receiving the credentials of the EU Ambassador to Ghana, Rune Skinnebach, referencing Ghana’s own encounter with U.S. export tariffs.

“We live in an increasingly changing world, and the world trade rules-based system is being upended by unilateral tariffs by various countries on others. Ghana, for instance, had the AGOA, which was zero-rated for exports into the United States. Today, we’ve been slapped with 15%. But it’s not only us; many other countries have suffered a worse fate than us. But we do believe that with regards to trade and tariffs, we must play by the rules. And it affects world prosperity when countries just decide unilaterally to impose tariffs on each other,” ” President Mahama said.

Updating the envoy on Ghana’s economic state, the president said, “Ghana is coming out of an economic crisis. We defaulted on our debts, and we went through a quite difficult debt restructuring exercise. Happily, we are coming back. The economy is stabilising. Inflation is coming down.”

"The currency is appreciating in value and being relatively stable. And we’re maintaining fiscal discipline that ensures that the economy is well managed. Aside from that, we’re also resetting our governance and introducing more accountability.”

Though the European Union Ambassador to Ghana, Rune Skinnebach, is new, he committed to closer engagement with Ghana on all fronts, including defence and security.

“I also see a very strong development in the partnership between the Republic of Ghana and the EU. I see our privileged position as a donor to the government, but also as a trading partner, as an investor.”

"I see these very important partnerships in security and defence, and most recently also in forest legislation enforcement, which all constitute platforms to further deepen our relationship,” Mr Skinnebach said.

He further underscored Ghana’s strong position on international issues.

“It hasn’t gone unnoticed that Ghana has been steadfast on the territorial integrity of Ukraine towards Russian aggression. That is very important to us in Europe.”

Later, President Mahama received the new UK High Commissioner to Ghana, Christian Rogg. The President noted that Ghana is working with ECOWAS and international partners to respond to violent extremism in the Sahel.

“We’ve developed a process of rapprochement with the AES countries, even though they have determined to break away from the regional sub-body. I think that there must be continuous engagement with them, because the threat they face is a common threat to our whole sub-region, not to them alone.

"The situation in those countries is quite grave, and we believe that Ghana, working with ECOWAS and the international community, must see how we can resolve the issue of violent extremism,” President Mahama said.

“We rely on cooperation with the UK. Already we have support in terms of training, technical expertise, and intelligence sharing, and we hope that will continue.”

The UK High Commissioner assured that security will remain central to Britain’s partnership with Ghana.

“The second priority is very much on security. The world really has changed… conflicts we never imagined are happening again in Europe, and what is happening in the region here is also very different,” Mr Rogg said.

“Over time, our partnership on security has evolved. That has to do with countering terrorism, with training, with intelligence, with equipment. But it also goes beyond that to threats we both face, such as illicit financial flows and the drugs trade. Security, just as growth, are quite broad and encompassing priorities we will work with your government on."