New Delhi: Ghana has invited Indian power companies to invest in setting up thermal and renewable power projects towards becoming power surplus in the next five years.

"A high-powered delegation led by Kwame Ampofo, chairman, Energy Commission of Ghana met the power industry leaders here today (Thursday) at the global launch of Powerelec Ghana 2016, an Indo-Ghanian platform created by Fairact Exhibitions and Events, Orange, Ghana and Verifair, Dubai, which will be hosted at Accra, Ghana in May 2016," said a release by the platform's organisers.

"Ghana has announced an ambitious programme of adding new power generation capacity of 3,665 MW over the next five years, thereby more than doubling the amount of existing capacity," the statement said.

"Ghana has been recognized by the World Bank's Doing Business Report of 2014 as the "Best Place for Doing Business in the ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) region," it added.

"The Chinese companies are already there and we want Indian power companies to explore the possibility to invest and reap the benefits. India must not wait for China to takeover. I will be happy if India shows interest," Ampofo said at the event.

Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $1.2 billion in the fiscal 2013-14.

India's Exim Bank has released a report documenting the manifold jump in trade in recent years between India and the 15-member ECOWAS.

India's two-way trade with ECOWAS has seen a 12-fold increase from $1.9 billion in 2004 to $22.7 billion, the report, Enhancing Trade Relations with ECOWAS, says.

"While India's total exports to ECOWAS have risen six-fold to $7 billion in 2013, India's total imports from ECOWAS have risen 23-fold to $15.7 billion," Exim Bank said.

"As a result, India's trade balance with ECOWAS has turned negative in recent years, primarily due to the large and rising volume of crude petroleum imports," the report added.

(IANS)