Minister of Trade, Investment and Tourism, Satyakama Maharaj, says exports to Ghana have surged as Trinidad and Tobago continues to strengthen commercial ties with the West African nation.
Speaking at the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Symposium hosted by the Emancipation Support Committee on Thursday, he said Trinidad and Tobago’s exports to Ghana increased more than tenfold in 2025, reflecting growing commercial ties between the two countries and expanding opportunities for local businesses.
He also revealed that exports to Ghana rose from an export surplus of TT$2.4 million to TT$39 million.
“This diversified export profile underscores the competitiveness of our manufacturing sector and our capacity to supply high quality products to the Ghanaian market. As we pursue opportunities for SMEs from Trinidad and Tobago and Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago remains firmly committed to creating an enabling environment for business growth, shared culture, and heritage, tourism investment, and international trade.”
To further strengthen bilateral economic relations, he noted that the Government is in the final stages of implementing a Reciprocal Investment Protection Agreement with Ghana.
“This bilateral investment treaty will further strengthen investor confidence by providing a stable, transparent and predictable framework for investment and will provide Trinidad and Tobago’s SMEs, businesses, and manufacturers with greater access to Ghana’s dynamic economy, valued at more than US$75 billion and the home to almost 36 million people.”
Minister Maharaj highlighted Ghana’s strategic importance as a gateway to the wider African market through the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“Through Ghana, our businesses can access not only to a vibrant national economy but also creating pathways to meet the needs of over 1.5 billion consumers across 54 African countries. This is just the gateway. This represents a natural progression for our local enterprises that have already leveraged regional integration within CARICOM, and we are now well positioned to expand their footprint into Africa. From the bottom of my heart, I know this is the future of enterprise in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Meanwhile, Chair of the Emancipation Support Committee, Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada, said the annual Transatlantic Trade and Investment Symposium is helping to reshape economic relations between Trinidad and Tobago and the African continent by creating new opportunities for trade and investment.
“We are happy that Ghana in particular now and the rest of the continent is being seen as a space that we can trade. We have to look at alternative development paradigms. We have to decolonise trade and investment.”
The discussions from the symposium were guided by the theme, ‘Building Trade Beyond Borders: Opportunities for SMEs from Trinidad and Tobago and Ghana.’