Petr Fiala and Dr Bawumia in a handshake
History was made yesterday when the Prime Minister of Czech Republic, Petr Fiala visited the country.
It was the first time in 30 years that a leader of that country was visiting Ghana.
Fiala’s visit was to foster stronger relations with Ghana.
He was received on arrival at the Jubilee House by Vice President Bawumia.
The two leaders went into a closed door meeting after which the two sides held bilateral talks to increase cooperation in areas of business, investment, medical assistance, peace and security, as well as air transport agreement.
At a bilateral meeting, the Vice President acknowledged the existing diplomatic relations between the two countries, dating back to 1959.
Discussions between the two leaders focused on establishment of joint venture agreements including energy projects, sewage treatment, water purification and construction sector.
Vice President Bawumia expressed profound gratitude to the Government of the Czech Republic for providing funding amounting to 79 million euros towards the construction of 12 polyclinics in five regions of the country, as well as donating medical beds worth 400,000 euros to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
He also appreciated the Czech Republic’s Medical Humanitarian Programme, which started in 2019, thus, enabling Czech medical doctors to visit Ghana annually to perform various surgeries and exchange expertise and knowledge with their Ghanaian counterparts.
“Ghana will host the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting in Accra from December 5 to 6 this year, and I’m optimistic that the discussions will provide the two countries an opportunity to work together to tackle issues hindering peacekeeping efforts in the world,” Dr. Bawumia stated.
He also recognised the immense contributions of the Czech Republic to Ghana’s healthcare, security and defence, construction of bridges and energy sectors.
Dr. Bawumia noted that the bilateral cooperation between the two countries remained strong, citing a defence and security agreement which resulted in the training of personnel of the Ghana Airforce and Ghana Police Service in various disciplines including cyber security, which he said equipped them with up-to-date skills and knowledge required in modern security operations.
He took the opportunity to woo businesses in Czech Republic to explore the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) and invest in areas such as food and agriculture, energy, health, education and infrastructure development.
He touted Ghana’s credentials as having a stable economic and political environment for doing business since it is ranked the most peaceful country in West Africa and second most peaceful nation on the continent.
On his part, the Prime Minister of Czech Republic, Petr Fiala said the Government of Czech Republic last year approved a new strategic plan to increase bilateral cooperation with countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa, and that Ghana was one of the five important trade partners in Africa.
He was of the belief that his visit to Ghana would further strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
He commended Ghana for the instrumental role it had played over the years in ensuring peace and stability in the West African sub-region, and pledged to support the country to preserve the peace and stability in the sub-region.
On trade, Fiala said, in 2022, Czech Republic’s trade volume to Ghana stood at $ 22 million, while import from Ghana was estimated at three million dollars, and believed that more could be done to increase the volumes of trade between the two countries.
He said trade relations with Ghana was of paramount importance to the Government of Czech Republic and underscored the need for both countries to cooperate more in areas of trade and investment, air transport and infrastructure development.
A delegation of Czech and Ghana Business Forum accompanied the Czech Prime Minister to Ghana to explore more trade and investment opportunities in Ghana and Africa at large.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent