János Áder paying homage to Otumfuo
THE ASANTEHENE, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called for the creation of a common platform for Ghanaian and Hungarian business people to explore opportunities for their mutual benefits.
He said such a platform would help expose the Ghanaian business community to other new opportunities and also offer them the chance to seek technical and financial support from their Hungarian counterparts.
“We can arrange a team of businessmen from Ghana for a trip to Hungary, where they can meet and collaborate with businessmen there to mutually develop their businesses,” Otumfuo said in Kumasi.
The Asante King made the remarks when the President of Hungary, János Áder, his wife and officials, paid a courtesy call on him (Otumfuo) at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
Otumfuo highly commended the Hungarian president and his government for their efforts and support to transform Ghana, and stressed that more energy should be put in Ghana-Hungary relations.
“I am not interested in Memorandum of Understanding’s (MOU) and any bureaucracy, all I need is action. We should go beyond the talking and let us put in action into what our people need,” he remarked.
The Asante King pointed out that 13 out of the 16 regions of the country lacked water treatment plants and so he was appealing to Hungary, to as matter of urgency, intervene in that important sector.
Ghana, according to Otumfuo, is a third-world country, therefore, the country critically needed developmental projects, pointing out that “we shall depend on you for support to transform.”
The Asantehene also said Ghana would need Hungary’s support in areas such as agriculture, engineering, and environment, just to mention a few, to help accelerate its growth.
He reiterated that “such collaborations would help Ghana to move from importing too much, which puts pressure on our foreign exchange.”
President Áder, in his brief remarks, assured the readiness of his country to support Ghana to transform, both in the public and private sectors.
The colourful traditional durbar was also used to showcase the beautiful Asante culture, which dates back to over 400 years. The Asantehene and his august visitor later on held talks in-camera at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi