Ghana and Iran have signed a number of Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding at the end of their Third Session of the Permanent Joint Commission of Cooperation in Tehran, Iran. The Session was convened to review the state of implementation of the cooperation agreement signed between Ghana and Iran in Accra on November 15, 1990 and to explore new opportunities for cooperation, to strengthen bilateral economic relations between the two countries at both governmental and private sector levels. This followed a visit to Iran by Mr Akwasi Osei-Adjei, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD, from May 20-23 this year. The Iranian President Dr. Ahmadi Nejad, expressed his country’s readiness to expand cooperation with Ghana in all the sectors negotiated, under the framework of the Joint Commission for Cooperation. A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD said the meeting discussed various issues including Banking and Finance, where the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) agreed to extend short, medium and long term suppliers' credit amounting to US$350 million to reputable Ghanaian banks through the Export Guarantee Fund of Ghana. It is to be accessed by the private sector for small-scale business development, and that negotiations would begin soon between the EGFI and the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran and Ghana to map out the modalities for administering the lines of credit. The Minister was accompanied by Mr Clement Eledi, Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwame Ampofo Twumasi, Deputy Minister for Energy and Alhaji Rashid Bawa, Ghana's Ambassador to Iran. The delegation held bilateral talks with a number of high-ranking Iranian officials, including Mohammad Reza Eskandari, Minister of Agriculture and co-chairman of Joint Commission for Cooperation, Dr. Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. Fatah, Minister of Energy, Mr. Samsami, Acting Minister for Economy and Financial Affairs and Mr. M. Nozari, Minister for Oil. The statement said the deliberations between the delegations of Ghana and Iran took place in a frank and cordial atmosphere. The two sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in Agriculture, and also collaborate on research and technology transfer in the development of vaccines and serums for humans and livestock, as well as in biotechnology and genetic engineering. They also agreed to cooperate in the area of cultivation improvement methodologies; development and exchange of planting material; provision of engineering and technical services; development of feasibility studies for the production of chemical fertilizers in Ghana; and joint-venture investment in agriculture. On Trade, Economic and Financial Cooperation, the Iranian side expressed its readiness to establish private joint-venture companies to undertake technical and engineering projects such as cement production, power generation and downstream petrochemical industries. The Iranian side also expressed interest in exploring opportunities in Ghana for joint-partnerships in vehicle and tractor assembling plants as well processing plants to add value to cocoa production. To establish confidence among Iranian business operators, the two sides initiated negotiations on Agreements for the avoidance of Double Taxation and investment promotion. The statement said Iran also agreed to extend to Ghana, loans of US$250 million for rural electrification and US$100 million for the financing of cottage industries, aimed at job creation to stem the rural-urban drift. On Energy, Ghana and Iran agreed to cooperate in the development of oil and gas with particular reference to the acquisition of seismic data on Ghana's Voltaian Basin. “Towards this end, Iran is to dispatch a team to Ghana in the near future to discuss the modalities for the execution of this project.” The two sides agreed to cooperate on the development of human resources for the Ghanaian petroleum industry, power generation, transmission and distribution in the country. Ghana welcomed the interest expressed by an Iranian company to participate in the construction of power generation plants as an Independent Power Producer in Ghana. On Education, the two sides agreed to exchange instructors for technical and vocational education, grant scholarships to students and to conduct joint research in science, technology and medicine at the tertiary level. On Health, Iran agreed to a request by Ghana for support in training nurses and other health workers at post-graduate levels and to organize periodic workshops on Public Health Care. The two sides agreed to support health campaigns in HIV/AIDS, malaria control and other communicable diseases in collaboration with the Ghana Red Cross Society. On Sports, Ghana and Iran agreed to cooperate in updating the skills of coaches, physical education instructors and athletes. The two sides also agreed to exchange lecturers on Sports Science, Administration and Management. Ghana and Iran agreed to develop their capacities in broadcasting and in news and programme exchange; technical cooperation; and the automation and digitization of radio and television broadcasting systems. On Transportation, the Iranian side expressed interest in investing in the development of port infrastructure and participation in sea-freighting of goods to and from Ghana on competitive basis. Other areas in which the two sides reached agreement covered the promotion of collaboration between the Customs Administrations through the conclusion of a Customs Agreement, based on the provisions of the model text of the World Customs Organization; cooperation on tourism promotion; and on Environmental issues, including waste management and biodiversity conservation. Source: GNA