Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (right)
Ghana and South Africa have sealed a deal for the establishment of a Bi-National Commission.
The deal was signed at the Jubilee House, the seat of Government in Ghana’s capital, Accra, on the sidelines of the working visit of South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, signed the agreement on behalf of Ghana.
Dr. Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, signed on behalf of South Africa.
The purpose of the Commission is to seek ways and means of promoting and enhancing co-operation in the various sectors of government and to co-ordinate initiatives in this regard as well as to facilitate contact between the public and private sectors of the Parties.
Thus, the objective of this agreement signed at the Jubilee House is to establish a framework within which the Parties may conduct their relationship and to set out the modalities and institutional mechanisms of cooperation.
Composition Of Commission
The Commission shall per the agreement be chaired jointly by the President of the Republic of Ghana and the President of the Republic of South Africa or their authorised representatives in line with the accepted diplomatic protocol.
Structure
It shall consist of senior government representatives of the Parties in the various sectors of cooperation agreed upon for the achievement of the Commission’s objectives; and adopt its own rules of procedure.
Sectoral Committees
Sectoral Committees shall be established by the Commission when deemed necessary.
Public and private sector representatives may be invited to participate in meetings of Sectoral Committees or in other structures established by these Committees in line with the agreement.
Sectoral Committees shall per the agreement
adopt their own rules of procedure consistent with the rules of procedure of the Commission;
meet as and when required; and
present reports of its meetings to the Commission for approval.
Areas Of Cooperation
Per the agreement, both nations are to cooperate in the fields of economic, cultural, scientific, technical social and other area of cooperation as may be identified by them.
Under the cooperation agreements, both parties
may propose and enter into such Agreements as are necessary for the effective cooperation and implementation of this Agreement.
Mr. Ramaphosa arrived in Ghana on Wednesday night, December 4, 2019, for a two-day working visit.
BY Melvin Tarlue