Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has outlined the benefits Ghana has derived from President Mahama’s working visit to Japan to participate in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9).
According to the Minister, the State has secured significant outcomes from the Conference, underscoring the country’s renewed presence on the global stage, where President Mahama chaired two plenary sessions and outlined his vision to reset and transform Ghana.
Ablakwa, in a Facebook post on Sunday, August 24, 2025, highlighted the revival of the long-delayed Volvo–Dorfor Adidome Bridge project across the Volta River, which both Ghana and Japan have committed to providing additional funds to ensure its completion, as one of the key achievements from the Conference.
Among other notable benefits from the TICAD 9, as stated by the Minister include:
- Commencement of the Kumasi inner-city ring road project in the coming months.
- A new pact with Toyota to expand operations in Ghana and establish the country as the automaker’s hub in West Africa.
- A groundbreaking space cooperation agreement with Japan to leverage space science for national development.
- A youth-focused programme under which 300,000 young people will be trained in artificial intelligence, modern agriculture, green transition, tech start-ups, and biotechnology.
- Enhanced cooperation based on cutting-edge research to boost rice production and food security in Ghana.
- $100 million secured to finance new agricultural projects.
- A strategic industrialisation partnership with Japan, as Japan considers investing a dedicated $1.5 billion in Africa in the short term.
President Mahama described the outcomes as a turning point in Ghana–Japan relations, noting that the cooperation comes nearly a century after Dr. Hideyo Noguchi sacrificed his life in Ghana out of his extraordinary love for the nation.
He said “Ghana is back on the global stage to inspire and strike strategic partnerships for our collective progress.”
