The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ghana, Ronald Gerard Strikker has paid a farewell call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.
He visited the Minister her office in Accra on Wednesday, 21st July, 2021 at 11:00 am, following the end of his 5-year tour of duty in Ghana.
Ambassador Ronald Gerard Strikker, a career diplomat with a background in law, was appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ghana in 2016.
Prior to that, he served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He has also served in various capacities as a Dutch envoy in Nairobi, Tunis, Santiago de Chile, Bangkok and Paris.
During the meeting, the Minister acknowledged that Ghana and the Netherlands have had long-standing and fruitful bilateral relations, which date back to the 1970s.
She reaffirmed Ghana’s determination and her personal desire to continue to forge strong partnerships of cooperation and to consolidate as well as deepen relations between the two countries for the mutual benefit of our two peoples.
She expressed appreciation to the Dutch Government for its firm support to Ghana’s health sector over the years, including the provision of funding for the construction of five (5) medical clinics in the Western Region.
Also mentioned the installation of 52 X-ray systems across Ghana, equipped with Computer Aided Detection for TB (CAD4TB) and tele radiology by Dutch firms Oldelft Benelux and Universal Hospitals Group as well as the construction of a water treatment plant in Navrongo, she said.
She observed that the Netherlands was the lead market destination for Ghana’s non-traditional exports in 2016 and underscored the need to bolster the trade relations between the two countries by leveraging on Ghana’s hosting of the Secretariat of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
By Melvin Tarlue