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Mr Yusupha B. Crookes, World Bank Country Director, has pledged the Bank's willingness to partner the Upper West Region in the implementation of its Strategic Development Plan. He said on his arrival in Ghana, he interacted with a number of country directors who did not only recommend the Upper West Regional Minister for the well thought-out strategic plan but also encouraged him to engage the minister for potential areas of collaboration. Mr Crookes said this when he led a team of officials from the World Bank to the region to find out potential areas of collaboration. He said given the potentials and opportunities in the region, they would want to know the medium and long term development objectives and strategies and where the World Bank could be of help to achieve those objectives. He mentioned commercial agriculture, sustainable rural water development, energy, health and education as well as social protection as some of the areas that the World Bank was ready to support. Dr Avea Nsoh, Regional Minister, thanked the World Bank Country Director for finding favour in the work that he and his team were doing to bring development to the region. He said it was his vision to turn around the current poor status of the region and make it a model one and a point of reference. Dr Nsoh mentioned tourism, dry season irrigation, aquaculture, fruits and cereals production as some of the potential areas that investors could take advantage of considering the availability of the vast arable land in the region. He explained that the Regional Strategic Development Plan, which would serve as a guide in co-ordinating all the development activities in the region, would clearly identify those potentials and challenges and propose areas of collaboration. This, according to him, would help them to better and effectively engage their development partners in a holistic development of the various sectors of the economy.