H.E. Dr. Michael Aaron N. N. Oquaye Esq (Jnr) is Ghana’s High Commissioner to India, with concurrent responsibility for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. H.E. Dr. Oquaye Jnr is an International Investment Corporate Lawyer with an extensive experience in Project Finance, Infrastructure, Mergers and Acquisitions, General Contract, and Commercial Transactions. His global experience is mainly focused on emerging businesses and markets. Countries of business include UK, USA, the ECOWAS region, and South Africa.
His varied areas of legal practice are in the sectors of Energy (Oil and Gas Bio fuels and Renewable Energy), Media and Technology, Telecommunications, Commodities, and Agri-business among others.
His work experience spans many years in both the UK and Ghana. His last job in the UK was at 9 King’s Bench Walk, Chancery Lane, London, where he worked with renowned barrister AI Mustakim. In Ghana, he is currently a legal practitioner at Exusia Law Consult with renowned lawyers such as Dr Yeboa Amoa (the first Managing Director of Ghana Stock Exchange) and Mrs. Essie F. Cobbina (Cocoa Board Ghana).
He was called to the Bar of England and Wales at The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and later called to the bar in Ghana. He holds a BL from BPP University’s Law School in Holborn, UK, and an LLB from the Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, UK. He also started an LLM in Oil and Gas at The University of Dundee, Scotland, UK.
Relationship with India
H.E. Dr. Michael’s mission as High Commissioner to India is to carry out the Vision of the President of Ghana His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo by accomplishing the following:
Enhance and foster an even closer Diplomatic Relationship between the Government of India and Ghana which was started since the close relationship between the first President of Ghana Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the first Prime Minister of India Shri. Jawahar Lal Nehru.
• Encourage Economic Diplomacy – Indian stores to come to Ghana and collaborate with Ghanaians to carry out the vision of the President Nana Akufo-Addo and industrialize Ghana via his Economic and Agricultural policies such as:
a) One district, one factory
b) Planting for Food and Jobs
c) One Village, one Dam
• Education – Promote the availability of International (Indian) scholarships for Ghanaian Students in line with his “Education and skills for all Ghanaians policy.” This has led to an increase in scholarships from about 100 to 300 to study in India.
• Agricultural – Collaboration to produce sufficient home-grown food in provisions such as rice, maize, sugar, and fruits. In addition to this, attaining a value-addition programme in Ghana to process, package, and market raw products thus promoting jobs to enhance economic growth.
• Transfer of skills – In areas such as ICT, to make Ghanaians more attractive in both the local and International markets in relation to jobs. Furthermore, use technology and science to derive the best practice methods in farming to improve seedlings and increase yields while shortening the period of growth. This has already started yielding fruits in areas of cashew and teak plantation exports.
Finally, his mission is to further increase exports from Ghana to India (which at present is our largest exporter) in areas such as cocoa, cashew, gold, and teak.
• Energy :
a) Solar Energy : Enhancing Ghana’s supply of cheap and clean power through its membership of the International Solar Alliance, which Ghana ratified in the parliament on October 3, 2017. This automatically made Ghana 15 founding member of ISA. This would enable Ghana to achieve its renewable energy policy target coverage of 10% by 2020.
b) Petroleum : To invite Indian companies to bid for and invest in oil blocks in Ghana, so as to feed the huge refineries in India with surplus crude from Ghana.
• Health Care: To attract Indian health-care companies and practitioners to come to Ghana, to build hospitals to perform complicated operations/surgeries as well as train Ghanaian doctors in the health-care domain.
• Exim Bank of India – Ghana projects facilitate:
a) Sugarcane development projects USD 24 millions
b) Agriculture mechanization USD 150
c) Railway project USD 400 millions among others.
Dr. Michael Oquaye Jnr is married to Mrs. Maureen Oquaye (Chartered Accounted) with three children – Michael III, Don-William, and Melinda.
