Alan Kereymaten and Alfonso Dastis in a chat
The Government of Spain and the Canary Islands has reiterated its commitment to strengthening relations with Africa, with special interest in West African countries.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain, Alfonso Dastis, in a statement, stressed that Spain has prioritized Africa in its foreign policy.
“We are redesigning our strategic approach to the region based on our accumulated experience and our growing weight in Africa.”
Mr Dastis further observed that a new framework of Spain’s relations with Africa would reflect in the III African Plan which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation was working on.
“Spain will continue to cooperate with the countries of West Africa to achieve an inclusive and sustainable economic development for the benefit of the two,” he said.
Mr Dastis made the statement at the International Economic Forum on ‘Perspectives of economic growth in West Africa,’ held in the Canary Islands, Spain this week.
The meeting was attended by ministers and senior officials from Morocco, Mauritania, Ghana, Senegal, Cape Verde and Ivory Coast, as well as the Director of Economic Affairs of the African Union (AU) Commission, René N’Guetia Kouassi.
It was organized by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the regional government of the Canary Islands and Casa Africa, with support from the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD).
Ghana was one of the six countries invited to the forum in recognition of its leadership role in ECOWAS and economic status.
Minister of Trade and Industry of Ghana, Alan Kereymaten, who represented Ghana, chaired a panel discussion on agro-industry and logistics, and held bilateral meetings with Mr Dastis to strengthen bilateral economic and commercial ties.
He briefed the audience on the important economic reforms that were being implemented in Ghana in line with the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda.
The Director of Casa África, Luis Padrón made reference to the recent signing of the agreement to create the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), which paved the way for the establishment of the largest single market for goods and services since the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Fernando Clavijo, President of the Canary Regional Government, said the Canary Islands wants to strengthen cross-border cooperation with West Africa to ensure sustainable and inclusive development.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri