President Akufo-Addo, Chancellor Scholz reaffirm commitment to bilateral ties

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, have reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing bilateral ties between their countries.
This followed a meeting between the two leaders at the Jubilee House on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, to discuss matters of common interest between their countries , as part of the Chancellor’s 2-day visit to Ghana.
This is the second time that a German Chancellor has visited Ghana since President Akufo-Addo assumed office. The first was by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Deliberations
The two leaders discussed at length how their countries would boost further the economic, political and security relations, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as well as cooperation at the continental and multilateral levels.
In addition, the deliberations centered on driving investment opportunities, domestic and foreign, into the two countries, and the need for enhanced cooperation and partnership in their development efforts.
Besides, towards the realisation of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, they touched on the need to promote a better world, and addressed global issues relating to the accomplishment of the 17 Goals.

Germany’s support
Briefing the press after the meeting, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the cooperation Ghana had received from Germany in driving socio-economic development, especially in the area of energy efficiency, including development of renewables and transmission infrastructure.
“These are areas that we’ve been benefiting greatly from German technology and assistance ,” he stated.

UN reforms
President Akufo-Addo said Ghana is looking forward for reforms of the United Nations especially the Security Council.
“We’ve all seen in recent times that the Council is not fit for purpose in dealing with issues of international peace and security,” he emphasised.

Russia war in Ukraine
A classic example, the President said, is what is happening in the war in Ukraine conflict where the nation that is the aggressor is also the vetoing country and which is blocking any initiatives that the Security Council can take over the conflict .
“Ghana continues to be strong in the denunciation of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and at the same time, we believe that great efforts should be made to see a possibility of the resolution of the conflict, which has national implications for us,” he said.

Israel-Hamas
In the same way, President Akufo-Addo said Ghana has been very clear and vocal in its condemnation on the attack on Israel on the 7th of October by the Hamas orgnisation and recognise fully, Israel’s right to protect and defend itself.
“But, at the same time, if you look at the humanitarian consequences going on over there, there is clearly the need for all of us, the global community, to look beyond the immediate issues of the consequences of Hamas’ attack on Israel and rather look at a comprehensive settlement of the matter,” he urged.

Chancellor appreciative
Chancellor Olaf Scholz thanked the President for the warm welcome accorded him.