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The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), yesterday organised a forum for Development Partners (DP), in the country to solicit for financial support to implement the Private Sector Development Strategy (PSDS) II.

Anchored on the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda II, the PSDS II, among other things, is meant to create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

It was attended by the representatives of the World Bank (WB), the European Union (EU), the Department for International Development (DFID), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the United Nations International Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA).

The forum provided an opportunity for agencies under MOTI such as the Free Zones Board, the Ghana Standards Authority, and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, to make presentations on their activities and the priority areas they would need financial support from the development partners.

Addressing the participants, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Ekwow Spio Garbrah, said the forum was meant to create an opportunity for the ministry and its agencies to brief the development partners on the various projects they were executing, and to seek their support.

The forum, Dr. Garbrah said, was also to create a platform for the MOTI to learn about the various projects the development partners are undertaking in the country.

According to the minister, the ministry would need between $5 and $10 million to implement the PSDS II, which is expected to come to an end this year.

He said the execution of the PSDS II, which started in 2010, encountered some challenges which has delayed the implementation of the programme.

Following the country’s signing of the IMF deal for financial support, Dr. Garbrah said the country could not borrow above 60 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, and had to rely on domestic sources and development partners to raise revenue to finance development projects.

He disclosed that currently, the DANIDA is supporting the PSDS II, and the Department for International Development had also pledged to support the programme.

Dr. Garbrah expressed the hope that the WB, EU, USAID, JICA, UNIDO and other partners, would come on board and support the programme and activities of the agencies under the ministry.

The Programme Officer in charge of Private Sector Development at the DANIDA, Mr. Emmanuel Kodwo Sackey, who spoke on behalf of the DP, said the DP have a critical role for the development of the country.

He pledged the DPs’ willingness and commitment to support the PSDS II for it to achieve the intended objective of building a thriving and vibrant private sector, to spur on the growth of the country.