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Ghana has experienced a healthy growth, registering some 300 projects in the non-mining and petroleum sectors, with an estimated cash inflow of more than $700 million, President J.E.A. Mills has said. He said if total inflows into mining, petroleum and free zone operations were included, the estimated investment into the country in 2009 alone would exceed $2 billion, indicating a brighter prospect this year. The President said this when he opened the three-day Africa Investment Forum in Accra yesterday. It is on the theme, �Accelerating Intra-African Trade and Investment.� He said, the country would continue to have an insatiable appetite for investment in the areas of oil and gas extraction and related services, infrastructure expansion, energy, agriculture and agribusiness, tourism, among others. He said in spite of the invitation extended to investors, the interest of the country would continue to reign supreme in relation to every investment decision by his administration. President Mills stressed that agriculture would remain a major pivot around which the country�s growth agenda would revolve, saying, �This will not only ensure food security but also provide sustainable job opportunities.� �It is thus gratifying to note that this gathering is giving prominence to issues relating to agriculture and improved food security,� he stressed. He said the successes chalked up by other regional economic groupings were the result of concerted adoption and implementation of policies. �Most certainly, these successes have been achieved through sound macroeconomic policies, a co-ordinated infrastructure development programme, the establishment of a monetary union and common external tariffs and mobility of labour,� he said. President Mills said in Africa, particularly at the sub-regional level, there had been benefits from a good measure of economic integration and e expressed optimism that the continent could achieve more with a greater commitment to developing a common market. He expressed the hope that there would be constructive dialogue and sharing of experiences in the areas of managing the oil, gas and mineral resources in the light of Ghana�s discovery of oil and gas and also improving on the mining sector and gas and also improving on the mining sector. The President of Namibia, Mr Hifikepunye Pohamba, who attended the ceremony, said the political independence of Africa was meaningless if it was not accompanied by economic freedom and called on business leaders to actively engage in debates that would help overcome the economic challenges of the continent.