New Delhi, May 7 (KNN) India and Ghana have agreed to work expeditiously towards operationalising India's instant payment system Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on Ghana's Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) within six months.

The agreement was reached during the Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting held on May 2-3 in Accra, Ghana's capital, where a seven-member Indian delegation met with their Ghanaian counterparts.

This move comes as UPI is rapidly gaining global momentum, with the payment platform already available in countries like Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and Nepal over the past five-six years.

During the JTC meeting, both sides discussed the possibility of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on digital transformation solutions, a local currency settlement system, and opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Several areas were identified for enhancing bilateral trade and mutually beneficial investment, including cooperation in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, ICT, agriculture and food processing, renewable energy, power sector, digital economy and infrastructure, critical minerals, textiles, and garments.

A business delegation led by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) accompanied the official delegation, meeting with the AfCFTA Secretary General to discuss potential MoUs, standards setting, investments, trade events in India, and deepening India-AfCFTA engagement.

Bilateral trade between India and Ghana stood at USD 2.87 billion in 2022-23, with India being the third-largest investor in Ghana across diverse sectors like pharmaceuticals, construction, manufacturing, trade services, agriculture, and tourism.

(KNN Bureau)