The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has held a bilateral meeting with the German Finance Minister, Mr Christian Lindner to discuss potential areas of partnership between the two countries.
The discussion focused on strengthening Germany-Ghana relations, as well as scaling up initiatives that build resilience and promote sustainable, inclusive growth while protecting both our climate/environment and internal security.
Addressing the media later, Mr Ofori-Atta said Ghana’s long-standing relationship with the Federal Republic of Germany has benefitted the country in several areas of the economy.
“Our partnership with Germany since 2017 has already led to significant advancements across Ghana’s energy, financial and governance sectors; and crucially, both myself and Christian Lindner look forward to maintaining this forward momentum,” he stated.
He also noted that the government would continue to rely on Germany and other key development partners as the country embarks on a journey to fundamentally reposition its economy and shape its collective progress.
On his part, the German Finance Minister, Mr Christian Lindner commented on the effect of the Global pandemic and Russian war in Ukraine on Ghana’s economy, stating that “this is why Germany supports your efforts.”
He said the role of the private sector banks was critical in ensuring the economy bounced to the path of growth and that it was essential for the government to consider possible ways to restructure the country’s sovereign debt which was held by bilateral creditors.
“We cannot only focus on debt restructuring without fostering the policy reforms you have already introduced so you have to apply fiscal measures in your budget, macro-economic recovery and debt operations. Only the three of these together will bring Ghana back to sustainable economic development over the next years” he stated.
The Minister further talked about German’s interest in Ghana’s politics and hinted that they were engaged in Ghana, through the KfW Development Bank which was financing several projects in both the public and public sectors.
“We have a vital interest in the success of Ghanaian politics. We want to see West Africa as a whole. We are interested in the economic progress of Ghana. We know that there are opportunities across this country, it has dynamism and we appreciate the efforts the government has made over the last year; extending human capital, and focusing on improving social mobility in society,” he stressed.
Patience Anaadem, ISD
