President Akufo-Addo with the outgoing Malaysian High Commissioner
Government intends to put in mechanisms that would enable the country to develop like Malaysia.
President Akufo-Addo, who made the assertion, said, “We want to find a replica of the same development here.”
He considered Malaysia as an iconic nation because of what it has been able to achieve as a nation and as a people.
The president was speaking when the Malaysia High Commissioner to Ghana, Loon-Lai Cheong, called on him at the presidency yesterday to bid him goodbye at the end of his duty tour.
Whiles wishing him well in his endeavours, President Akufo-Addo noted, “We are inspired by the development that has taken place in your country; we believe that there is much that we can do together to advance the sort of narrative between us,” chief among which he said is in the area of cocoa production where both countries share a common goal.
He thinks there is the need for more discussions between the two cocoa producing countries, especially in terms of marketing the product.
“I think that the producers also need to take position on the market, different from that on the table, the consumers and to protect our farmers,” he proposed.
Talking about relations between Ghana and Malaysia, President Nana Akufo-Addo indicated, “The relations between our two countries go back a long way; they go back at the very time of independence and they are relations that we want to continue seeing to grow.”
He stressed the fact that Ghana is making important strides in its democratic journey saying, “We think it is the journey that will bring prosperity to our people.”
He disclosed, “Our main focus is on governance and the measures that we need to take to strengthen our economy and promote good governance for the people of Ghana; those are our main objectives.”
The president then extended his good wishes and those of the government and people of Ghana to the outgoing envoy and urged him to tell the good story of the country wherever he goes.
On his part, Loon-Lai Cheong thanked the government and people of Ghana for their hospitality.
He seized the opportunity to wish President Akufo-Addo a happy birthday (which fell yesterday) and wished him success in his term of office.
“We will continue the good relations that we have between both counties. There is still a lot of work to be done,” Mr Loon-Lai Cheong stressed.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent