Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has confirmed that President Mahama's recent engagement with the Japanese government has "delivered remarkable and tangible outcomes for Ghana."

President John Mahama was in Japan for the three-day 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), scheduled for August 20–22, 2025, in Yokohama. The conference was co-hosted by the Government of Japan, the United Nations, UNDP, the World Bank, and the African Union Commission.

The president touched down in Tokyo aboard Emirates flight EK 318, where he was received by officials of Ghana’s Embassy in Japan and representatives of the host government. The visit was aimed at deepening bilateral relations, expanding trade and investment links, and advancing cooperation on shared development priorities.

The objectives have been accomplished, according to Minister for Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

In a post on the Facebook platform on Sunday, August 24, listed eight (8) key outcomes of the president's engagement.

The key accomplishments are as follows:

1. Volivo to Dorfor Adidome Bridge across the Volta River has been revived. Both nations commit to immediately provide the additional funding required.

2. Kumasi inner city ring way project to commence shortly;

3. New agreement signed with Toyota to expand its operations in Ghana and make Ghana its West African hub;

4. Groundbreaking space agreement signed with Japan to leverage space science for Ghana’s development;

5. Ghana to benefit from training of a targeted 300,000 youth in AI, modern agriculture, green transition, tech-startups, and biotechnology;

6. Special cooperation anchored on latest scientific research to boost rice production in Ghana and attain food security;

7. US$100 million secured for new agricultural projects;

8. Arranged a strategic industrialization partnership with Japan, as Japan considers investing a dedicated US $1.5 billion in Africa in the short term.

The Foreign Minister noted that "Ghana is back on the global stage to inspire and strike strategic partnerships for our collective progress."

"Ghana - Japan relations couldn’t be better, 98 years after Noguchi sacrificed his life for the extraordinary love he had for our nation," he added.

President John Dramani Mahama has called on Japanese businesses to invest in the many untapped sectors in the Ghanaian economy at a time when the economy is recording an impressive recovery.

The president revealed the current gains by the local tender, the Ghana cedi, against major trading currencies. He also touched on Ghana’s current ranking, which saw an improvement as a result of the growing economy.

“For those of you who know the history of the Ghanaian cedi, it’s been one of the most volatile currencies in Africa, and a few years back, we were said to be the worst-performing currency. I’m happy to announce that this year, the Ghana cedi has been the best-performing currency in the world.

Inflation rose to a high of almost 23% in 2024 and it’s currently down to 13.7% and we expect that by the end of the year to hit single digit. We’ve been upgraded from junk status to B minus with a stable outlook, and I’m certain that in the next review, we’re going to be upgraded again,” he said.

Highlighting incentives to be benefited by investors, the Ghanaian president shared that investors can export their goods and services to about 50 African nations that have agreed to duty-free trade.

“So far, almost 50 African countries have signed agreements that allow us to export duty-free, tariff-free into each other’s markets. And once you register your product and it meets all the standards, you can export duty-free and tariff-free into each other’s markets,” he remarked.

For President John Dramani Mahama, Japanese investors could focus their attention on the automobile manufacturing sector, the agricultural sector, and the recreational sector, as well as the textile sector, to name a few.

“Japan has a comparative advantage when it comes to automobile manufacturing. Using the opportunity to be able to export into not only our sub-region, but also into Africa, Ghana becomes a good place for the local assembly of automotive products.”

"Already, we have Japanese companies that are based in Ghana and assembling for the local market and also for exporting to the sub-region. We have millions of hectares of land that border that huge lake, and the water can be used to bring about 2 million hectares of land under irrigation.”

"But also we intend to establish industrial parks, so that we can process agri products. We can invest in textile manufacture for export into the EU markets, into the American market and other places,” he said.

According to President Mahama, the technological sector should be harnessed to aid the digital economy. He spoke highly of the Ghanaian youth and their potential to grow the digital economy.

“Ghana has a very young population, English-speaking, and they’re very smart, and quick to upskill in any areas, robotics, AI, fintechs. The FinTech sector is one of the fastest growing in Ghana than in any other African country.”

“Africa is the next frontier for investment. Most parts of the world are saturated when it comes to investment. Africa is opening up, growing, and is a place that Japan should be looking at. And so let us marry Japanese position with Ghanaian potential and create a win-win situation for ourselves,” President Mahama told investors.

After concluding his engagements in Japan, President Mahama proceeded to Singapore for a three-day visit focused on strengthening investment ties and engaging with Singaporean leaders and business magnates.

The state visit included a courtesy call on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, participation in the Africa-Singapore Business Forum, and an address at an investment forum to present Ghana's reform and investment priorities and strengthen private-sector linkages between Ghana and Singapore-based investors.

According to the Presidency, these visits are intended to “attract investment, broaden market access for Ghanaian goods and services, mobilize technical and development cooperation, and bolster partnerships in technology, infrastructure, finance, and human capital development.” The engagements will be concluded today.