India and Ghana are looking to widen their comprehensive partnership into pharmaceuticals, healthcare, mining, defence, railways and digital technologies, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, as Accra announced plans to formally seek membership of BRICS.
Jaishankar, who arrived in Ghana on Tuesday on the first leg of a three-nation Africa tour that also includes Cote d’Ivoire and Ethiopia, held talks with his Ghanaian counterpart Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa. The discussions covered bilateral economic cooperation, development partnerships and coordination between the two countries on issues concerning the Global South.
New areas of cooperation
The India-Ghana relationship was elevated to a comprehensive partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ghana in July 2025. Jaishankar said the challenge now was to translate that upgraded relationship into deeper cooperation across a wider range of sectors.
“Now that we have established a comprehensive partnership, we need to live up to that. We need to find new areas of cooperation. We need to deepen our long-standing partnership,” Jaishankar said following his talks with Ablakwa.
The two countries signed agreements covering agricultural research and training as well as biodiversity. Jaishankar said they were simultaneously exploring greater cooperation in pharmaceuticals and health, mining, defence, railways and the digital sector.
The focus reflects India’s broader effort to expand its economic and strategic engagement with Africa through investment, capacity-building, technology and development partnerships.
Ghana eyes BRICS
In a significant development during the visit, Ablakwa said Ghana’s Cabinet had approved a decision to seek BRICS membership and the country would now begin the process of formally applying to join the grouping.
Ghana will seek the support of existing BRICS members for its candidature, with its eventual admission requiring approval within the grouping.
Ablakwa presented the decision as part of Ghana’s attempt to diversify its international relationships rather than abandon established partnerships with institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
“We want to have options. We are not going to walk away from our traditional partners. We value that relationship, but we must have new friends,” he said.
He identified India, Brazil and China among Ghana’s historical partners with which Accra already has substantial trade and investment links.
Trade target grows
Economic ties formed an important part of the discussions, with Ghana looking to expand its trade relationship with India.
Ablakwa said bilateral trade had more than doubled from around USD 3 billion in 2024 and Ghana was seeking to take the figure to approximately USD 7 billion.
Indian companies already have a presence in Ghana across several sectors. Jaishankar referred to recent investment commitments involving pharmaceuticals and medical services, poultry and renewable energy while arguing that greater business engagement could strengthen the economic partnership.
The emphasis on pharmaceuticals and healthcare is particularly significant given India’s position as a major supplier of affordable medicines and Ghana’s efforts to strengthen domestic healthcare capacity.
Pooling development experience
Jaishankar said India and Ghana faced several similar development challenges and could benefit from exchanging their experiences rather than approaching them separately.
He identified food security, healthcare, digitalisation and infrastructure as areas where programmes in the two countries addressed comparable needs.
“Given these similarities, given these patterns, I think it's very natural for us as countries of the Global South to pool our experience, to see what we can do to support each other, to share with each other,” he said.
India has increasingly positioned digital public infrastructure as an important component of its development partnerships, particularly with countries in the Global South. Jaishankar said an accessible digital ecosystem could democratise opportunities and reiterated India's readiness to share its experience with African partners.
Focus on resilience
Addressing Ghana’s Foreign Service Institute earlier, Jaishankar placed the relationship within the broader challenge of navigating an increasingly uncertain global economy.
He highlighted the importance of resilient supply chains for fuel, food, fertiliser and finance, arguing that countries of the Global South must also retain their ability to industrialise.
Jaishankar pointed to India’s transformation in infrastructure, digital technology, manufacturing and entrepreneurship and said the country had emerged as an important contributor to global growth.
He said cooperation between India and Ghana could strengthen resilience, promote inclusion and ensure that economic growth delivered tangible benefits to their populations.
Global South agenda
The two countries also discussed greater coordination in multilateral institutions. Jaishankar said India valued Ghana’s role in the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS.
Ghana is a founding member of ECOWAS and is also set to assume the chairmanship of the African Union in 2027, giving Accra a potentially larger role in shaping the continent’s diplomatic agenda.
India has placed growing emphasis on its engagement with Africa as part of its wider Global South diplomacy. The African Union became a permanent member of the G20 during India’s presidency of the grouping in 2023.
UN reform discussed
Reform of global institutions, particularly the United Nations Security Council, also figured in the talks.
Jaishankar said India and Ghana shared similar views on the need to reform the UN system and argued that Global South countries should coordinate more closely on the issue.
“We feel that as Global South partners we should be working together strongly for the reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council,” he said.
India has long sought permanent membership of an expanded Security Council and has backed greater African representation in global decision-making institutions.
Jaishankar also said the international system was moving towards greater multipolarity and diversity, arguing that countries such as India and Ghana should maintain independent positions and advocate strategic autonomy.
Ghana’s decision to seek BRICS membership adds another dimension to that approach. While its application is still to be formally made and membership is not assured, Accra’s move signals its intention to widen its diplomatic and economic options at a time when India and Ghana are themselves seeking to turn their upgraded comprehensive partnership into cooperation across a broader range of sectors.