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The Minister of Finance, Mr. Seth Terkper, has assured the business community and investors that the government’s three-year programme with the IMF, will put the economy on the right track for accelerated growth in the medium to long term.

He said in addition to the financial assistance, the programme would offer technical support aimed at restructuring the economy for businesses to succeed.

The Minister gave the assurance yesterday when he met a delegation from Germany, led by the German Federal Minister of Health, Hermann Grohe, at his office in Accra to discuss the Ghana-German Consultation covering 2016 to 2018.

The Ghana-German Consultation, which was concluded in February ahead of negotiations in June, has four thematic areas.

The consultation targets budget support and good financial governance, fiscal discipline, both legal and administrative, sustainable economic development, and agricultural development.

Mr. Terkper urged investors to continue to have confidence in the economy, and urged the delegation to invite investors from Germany into the country.

He said notwithstanding the challenges the economy had experienced in the past few years, the medium to long term prospects are bright.

According to him, the IMF programme would bring some sort of relief in the short term, even before the full impact of the programme in the medium to long term.

Mr. Terkper said the structural elements of the programme would help in the public financial management exercise, and indicated that the programme would be implemented in tandem with the government’s home-grown policies.

He noted that although the country had achieved a lower middle-income status, many parts of the country are still at the developing stage and pledged government’s commitment to implement policies that would ensure a comprehensive development of the country.

Touching on the Ghana-Germany Consultation, he expressed optimism that the relationship would be beneficial to both countries.

He said German institutions such as GIZ, had become household names and were working closely with the government in a number of development areas.

Mr. Grohe said Ghana had the potential to build the strongest economy on the continent, and urged the government to initiate the appropriate measures to put the economy on the path of recovery.

He said German businessmen has expressed interest in the Ghanaian economy, and entreated the government to assure them of legal and security certainty and protection.

Mr. Grohe noted that the German government abhorred resource and human exploitation, and advised the government to make efforts to address all forms of exploitation, especially in industries such as cocoa.

He expressed the German government’s commitment to help Ghana to become a role model for other African countries.