Ghana has signed an agreement with Russia to facilitate the recruitment of Ghanaian workers for industrial and manufacturing jobs, as part of efforts to expand employment opportunities abroad.
The agreement was signed by the Minister of Labour, Emmanuel Agyekum, and the director of Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone, an industrial hub with 48 companies requiring more than 75,000 workers.
Under the agreement, the Ministry of Labour will coordinate recruitment, verify job offers and provide pre-departure orientation to safeguard the interests of Ghanaian workers.
Speaking after the signing on Thursday, October 29, Agyekum said the cooperation would extend beyond labour migration to include business partnerships, education, research, religion and cultural exchange.
“We signed a fantastic agreement, not only on labour exchange. We are also looking at business-to-business cooperation. We’re looking at religion and culture as well, where we want to work further to make sure our cooperation goes beyond just labour migration,” he said.
He added that Ghanaian businesses would participate in upcoming forums in Tatarstan to explore opportunities for collaboration between businesses in the two countries.
According to the minister, Ghana and Russia were also exploring academic partnerships that would enable Ghanaian professors and lecturers to undertake research with universities in Russia.
Agyekum further encouraged young people in Ghana to take advantage of the employment opportunities expected to emerge from the initiative.
