President Akufo-Addo, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier And Vice-President Bawumia (Left) At The Dinner
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has commended Ghana for the strides it has made over the years as an oasis of peace and stability.
For him, the peaceful transfer of power from one government, and for that matter, political party to the other alone, speaks volumes of the peaceful nature of Ghanaians and the stability of the nation.
He made the commendation at a state dinner held in his honour by President Akufo-Addo at the foyer of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) Tuesday evening.
Impression
Apart from that, he stated, “I am impressed by Ghana’s contributions to the United Nations, the African Union and ECOWAS; and Ghana is also key to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, with President Akufo-Addo acting as an official UN Advocate of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Ghana is often named as an exemplary case in Africa not least, in economic terms. We all know that development cooperation may lead to certain improvement specific targeted areas, but as President Akufo-Addo has recognised, with his vision of Ghana beyond aid, that long term success can only be built on a foundation of a strong local economy driven by an ambitious, well-educated and skilled young generation.”
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was particularly happy about his Ghanaian counterpart’s decision to move Ghana beyond aid and charity, stating that “we are happy to support Ghana in this endeavour.”
Bilaterally, he indicated, “We are opening a new chapter of cooperation with the new reforms and investment partnerships that we signed today. I sense a new spirit and optimism in this kind of project.”
Concern
Talking about the youth, President Steinmeier said, “Young people are our future both at home in Germany and here in Ghana. We owe them our best efforts to create a prosperous future.
“When we see thousands of young men and women making a dangerous journey across the Sahara and the Mediterranean, we know that their dreams are being exploited by ruthless criminals and many of them lose their lives.”
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier lamented, “Some of Africa’s brightest and strongest who are needed here to build a future for Ghana and Africa even end up in the nightmare of modern-day slavery. We cannot let this stand.”
Resolution
The German President stressed, “We need to do more from both sides; we need to instill hope and create meaningful opportunities for young people locally.”
In view of that, he assured, “We will also continue to provide the ideas for good proven practices for example in the area of vocational training, which is an important factor in Germany’s economic prosperity; and we saw encouraging examples here in Accra.”
President Akufo-Addo also applauded the German government for committing about 130 million Euros to support Ghana for the 2009-2011 fiscal year and another commitment of 130 million Euros for the 2013-2015 fiscal years.
Appreciation
“I also appreciate the provision of funding to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) operating, as well as support for a number of regional projects in the agriculture, climate, energy, healthcare and waste management sectors,” he stressed, not forgetting the 100 million Euros grant given to Ghana.
Going forward, he said, “We have decided to turn our back on the old economy, which was dependent on the production and export of raw materials and also dependent on aid.
“We want to build a value-added industrial economy and a modernized agriculture which is neither victim nor pawn of the world economic order; we want our relationship to be characterised by increased trade and investment cooperation with Germany.”
According to President Akufo-Addo, “This is the way to develop healthy relations between our two countries and put Ghana at the high end of the value chain in the global market place and create jobs for the teeming masses of Ghanaians, particularly the youth. Our vision is to build a free prosperous country, a Ghana beyond aid.”
Departure
The German President has since left Ghana for his home country.
He was seen off at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) yesterday by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany, Gina Ama Blay and the German-trained cardiologist specialist, who is now the Minister for Science, Environment, Innovation and Technology, Professor Dr Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent