By Edmund Mingle
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| President Mahama welcoming PM Desalyegn to the Flagstaff House |
The governments of Ghana and Ethiopia have agreed to
spearhead the campaign for economic emancipation of the African Union, pledging
to work together with the same zeal the characterized the independence era.
In that regard, they pledged to translate their strong
political ties into enhanced economic partnership for the benefit of the people
of the two countries and the continent in general.
President John Dramani Mahama and the visiting Ethiopia
Prime Minister, Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, expressed the commitments of their
respective countries to work together, at a State dinner held at the State Banquet
Hall in Accra on Thursday, in honour of the Prime Minister and his delegation.
Although the two leaders were happy about the dividends
from the friendship of the two countries, they believed more could be done to
optimise the opportunities in the economic, social and political sectors.
According to Prime Minister Desalegn, it has been nearly
60 years when Ghana launched the first wave of independence for Africa, and
since then Africa has attained political liberation, but expressed regret that
“we have not yet achieved economic liberation and a peaceful united Africa.”
“Unless we complement the political gains with economic
prosperity, we cannot realise the vision of Pan Africanism.
“Regional Cooperation is not an option, but a necessity,”
he said, stressing the need for Africa to work together.
He explained that Africa, which is now referred as “rising
continent,” and no more the “dark continent,” has the capacity to build its
economy and become self-reliant.
“We need to seize the opportunity to strengthen the
success stories across the continent,” he said.
He was optimistic that Ethiopia would work with Ghana to
lead the economic development of the region.
“Both Ghana and Ethiopia were leaders in the
de-colonisation of Africa. We remain champions of Pan Africanism.
“We have the capacity, the willingness and the commitment
to continue to provide leadership to tackle the challenges we face today as a
continent,” he said.
Touching on the ties between the two countries, the Prime
Minister described Ghana as a “dependable ally,” and expressed the commitment
of Ethiopia to improve its economic relationship with Ghana.
“The level of investment and volume of trade between our
two countries do not reflect our excellent political relations,” he said
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| The two leaders sharing some thoughts at the dinner |
He therefore, called for more joint ventures and
investment partnerships between Ethiopians and Ghanaians, saying “we look
forward to working more closely with Ghana.”
President Mahama, proposing the toast earlier, lauded the
visit of the Prime Minister, which is the second by an Ethiopia leader after Emperor
Haile Selassie in 1970.
He agreed that not much had been derived from the
economic partnership between the two countries, and expressed Ghana’s
commitment for a strong economic cooperation.
He recalled a signing of the general cooperation
agreement between the two countries in 2014 to provide a framework for
cooperation in some 14 areas of interest including tourism, agriculture and
trade.
“We need to work together to ensure that these
arrangements translate into joint projects and programmes that would enrich the
lives of our citizens,” he said.
The President commended the government of Ethiopia for
the sustained socio-economic progress in that country describing that country’s
economic growth, effective infrastructure and transport network system, as
worth emulating.
“Ethiopia’s sustained double digit economic growth and rapid
transformation demonstrates how far visionary leadership can go when supported
by a united, disciplined and determined people.
“We shall keenly follow your progress as you implement
the second phase of the growth and transformation plan which is designed to
lead Ethiopia into middle income status by the year 2025.
“It is an example for which we draw inspiration as we in
Ghana similarly strive to implement our long term development plan,” he said.
On the political front, he lauded Ethiopia’s contribution
to peace and security on the continent and around the globe, and in that
regard, declared Ghana’s support for Ethiopia’s bid for a non permanent
membership of the United Nations Security Council.
He also declared Ghana’s support for the candidature of the
current Ethiopia Foreign Minister, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is bidding
for the position of Director-General of the UN’s World Health Organisation.
Prime Minister Desalegn, who is accompanied by his wife,
Roman Tesfaye, and business delegation, held talks with President Mahama at the
Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday before visiting the Touton cocoa factory in
Tema as part of the visit.
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