India and Ghana Establish Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

India and Ghana elevated their bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership during an official visit by Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Accra. The visit served as a follow-up to a previous trip by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and aimed to deepen strategic cooperation between the two nations.

As part of the new framework, the two countries signed two Memoranda of Understanding. One agreement establishes a partnership between the Zoological Survey of India and the University of Ghana for research and training. A second five-year agreement between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Ghana's CSIR-Crops Research Institute focuses on joint research, technology transfer, and the commercialization of innovations.

Minister Jaishankar met with Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama and Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to discuss expanding engagement with the African Union and ECOWAS. The nations are currently negotiating cooperation in defense, mining, health, vaccine production, and digital public infrastructure. Minister Ablakwa specifically identified railway development as a primary strategic priority to reduce road congestion, citing the Tema-Mpakadan Railway Project as a successful example of existing cooperation.

Additionally, Ghana has made a formal bid to join BRICS, aligning with India's broader efforts to increase African representation in global forums such as the G20.