The Diaspora Engagement Policy currently being developed by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and the Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the Presidency is soon to be submitted to Cabinet for approval.
This is according to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.
Speaking at the first ever Diaspora Business Breakfast Meeting organized by GIPC on Tuesday, November 12, the Minister noted that the policy when approved, will harness the human and material resources of the diaspora for the socio-economic transformation of Ghana.
The Minister addressing the audience noted that, annual remittances through formal channels from some 1.5 to 3 million Ghanaians living in the diaspora, in recent times averaged $2 billion, asserting the diaspora community can be a source of foreign direct investment for the country.
“The Policy when adopted will provide for the leveraging of investment benefits and privileges through strategies that promote foreign direct investment to Ghana from the diaspora,” said Mrs Ayorkor Botchwey.
“It will further enable us to mainstream diaspora investments, skills and knowledge transfer into development planning, in addition to the promotion of made-in-Ghana products abroad through expos and fairs. It will also call for the design of attractive financial packages to enhance diaspora investment for development,” she added.
Speaking further on the objectives of the policy, the Foreign Affairs Minister, stated that the four main objectives which the policy aims to achieve include;
- Promote capacity building and enhance diaspora-homeland relationship for the mutual benefit of both parties.
- Provide the legal instrument and programmes that extend some rights and privileges that Ghanaians in Ghana enjoy to their counterparts in the Diaspora.
- Strengthen systems for involving the Ghanaian diaspora in mobilizing resources for sustainable national development.
- Facilitate the production and dissemination of accurate and relevant data on the Ghanaian diaspora in a timely manner to strengthen the homeland’s further sustainable engagement with the diaspora.
Concluding her address, the Minister urged diasporas at the event to take advantage of the coming into force of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement set to commence on January 1, 2021, to step up their trade and investment engagements in the country.
