Singapore intends to deepen economic ties with the Economic Committee of West Africa States (ECOWAS), as trade relations between both regions grows to SGD1.2 billion (GHS1.9 billion).
This, according to International
Enterprise (IE) Singapore, an agency under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and
Industry responsible for the growth of Singapore’s overseas investments and
international trade.
Singapore
companies are present in 11 out of 15 countries in the ECOWAS today, spanning a
variety of sectors such as agriculture, F&B and urban infrastructure.
According to IE Singapore, the growth in
trade is driven mostly by the fledging oil & gas industry in ECOWAS, a
sector which has seen Singapore entrants in recent years. These include Sembcorp Marine, which built Ghana’s
first Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, and Keppel
Offshore & Marine, an offshore rig provider.
With the rise of
industrialisation and urbanisation in the region,Singapore companies are hoping
to expand beyond the oil & gas industry and contribute to growth in the
logistics and manufacturing sectors.
Singapore may seem like an unlikely
partner for the ECOWAS region at first glance. Located in the heart of
Southeast Asia, Singapore is a small country with a total land area of 710 km2,
a fraction of the Greater Accra Region. However, it has developed rapidly to
become one of the world’s most competitive economies. Home to 7,000 global multinational
companies, Singapore has a GDP
per capita of USD60,000 (approximately GHS120,000), which puts it on par with
top economies such as Norway and the US[2].
Having gone through rapid industrial and
economic development, many Singapore companies have experience and capabilities
in sectors such as education, e-Government, finance, infocomm technology (ICT),
as well as urban and infrastructure solutions.
Said IE Singapore’s Ghana-based Centre
Director, Mr Ian Lee, “ECOWAS is among the world’s fastest-growing regions today. As it embarks on a path of swift socio-economic
development, partners that can bring meaningful investments will be crucial to
its long-term growth. Singapore hopes to be such a partner and share our expertise
with the ECOWAS through our public and private sectors.”
With economic relations between ECOWAS and
Singapore on the rise, Singapore
has been stepping up its engagement with the region. Today, it partners countries within ECOWAS to develop their
infrastructure and education sectors, contributing to the region’s long-term
socio-economic growth.
Another example is Singapore's Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES), which has set up the Model Skills Training Centre, a vocational school in Abuja, Nigeria. The centre runs programmes covering electronics, ICT, mechatronics, facility technology and culinary skills.
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!
No comments:
Post a Comment