Ghana and The Netherlands have agreed to reinforce their bilateral relations and take steps to enable Ghana to increase trade volumes through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In view of this, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and RegionalIntergration, Shirley AyorkorBotchwey, has invited Dutch investors to explore the country’s favourable investment environment for business deals.
This transpired during a meeting between the Minister and her Dutch counterpart MrWopke Hoekstra on Tuesday in The Hague, on the sidelines of the Africa Adaptation Summit, which was held in Rotterdam on Monday.
A statement from the Ministry said the discussions centered on the desire by both countries to strengthen the age-old relations, founded on a mutual commitment to work closely together in many areas of common interest.
Ms Botchwey recalled that the two countries had over the years firmed up their alliance in a wide range of bilateral and multilateral sectors bordering on trade, investment, agriculture, peace, and security, among others.
The two Ministers, therefore, agreed to follow up on political consultations held in Accra earlier this year to further enhance partnerships and share best practices in the various sectors.
Ms Botchwey also highlighted the government’s economic agenda which was predicated on the transformation of the structure of the economy to perform beyond aid, and reduce dependence on imports to become an exporter of semi-processed and manufactured commodities with the private sector at the center of the policy.
She pointed out that the process of industrialisation leading to the establishment of factories and industries, which Ghana was currently undertaking, would, ultimately, provide job opportunities, particularly, for the Ghanaian youth.
Ms Botchwey acknowledged the Dutch Government’s impressive expertise in agriculture and processing of agricultural produce and praised the World Horti Center, which is the knowledge and innovation center for international greenhouse horticulture, as well as the Cargill Cocoa Processing Plant (where Ghana’s Cocoa is primarily used), to inspect the facilities.
She indicated that collaboration with such companies would add impetus to the government’s drive to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and prevent them from embarking on perilous journeys to Europe.
She thanked the Dutch for the various forms of collaboration through private-partner sector instruments which had better participation by the Dutch and Ghanaian private sector in the economic development of the country.
At the multilateral level, the Ministers called for cooperation to ensure decisive action in finding lasting solutions to the new threats to global peace and security.
These threats included the insecurity in the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea, terrorism and violent extremism, climate change and its attendant impact on the environment and livelihoods.
They were hopeful that cooperation at the multilateral level, considering Ghana’s membership of the United Nations Security Council, would lead to finding a lasting solution to the Russian-Ukrainian war and its attendant challenges such as the rising cost of food, fuel, and energy.
BY TIMES REPORTER
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