(Associated Press via NewsEdge) China's premier has committed to lending about $66 million to Ghana to fund telecommunications upgrades and other projects in the west African nation.
China, the world's fastest growing economy and most populous nation, has spent the last few decades building relationships and trade throughout Africa, regularly conducting state visits and financing infrastructure projects in resource-rich markets that the West has been slower to embrace for reasons ranging from small profit margins to bureaucratic hurdles.
Premier Wen Jiabao and Ghanian President John Kufuor agreed to a low-interest loan for a number of projects, including a plan to upgrade Ghana's communications network by increasing phone lines and improving the country's Internet-access.
The plan also includes training students and workers in communications technology, finance minister Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu said after the meeting.
'This will help a great deal to expand employment opportunities in Ghana,' Baah-Wiredu said. 'And we are very grateful to the Chinese.'
Baah-Wiredu noted that Ghana has backed Beijing's 'one-China' policy by refusing to recognize Taiwan as an independent country.
The money is also going toward programs to send Chinese doctors and medical workers to Ghana.
Ghana also agreed to help facilitate a loan from a private communication company in China to expand facilities for Ghana Telecom, part of growing business ties between the countries.
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