Ghana and the European Union (EU) have held the 2023 session of the annual Political Dialogue in Accra on Wednesday.
The dialogue envisaged strengthening the existing relations between the two parties and to discuss issues of mutual benefit.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration on Wednesday said the meeting was chaired on the Ghana side by Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, and on the European Union side by the Head of its Delegation to Ghana, Mr Irchad Razaaly.
It stated, “As Ghana’s largest multilateral development and trade partner, the EU and its Member States currently finance about half of all Official Development Assistance (ODA) received by the Ghanaian Government. Formalized cooperation between Ghana and the EU began after the first Lomé Convention in 1975 and the two parties have enjoyed fruitful economic and political exchanges which have improved and strengthened over the years.”
According to the statement, the 2023 Ghana-EU Political Dialogue brought together all the relevant national stakeholders in Ministries, Departments and Agencies and representatives of the EU Member Countries accredited to Ghana to discuss issues of mutual interest in the following thematic areas.
“The thematic areas are Micro-economic Situation and IMF-supported Programme, Economic Partnership Agreement and African Continental Free Trade Area, Business Climate, Health and Vaccines, Flagship Programmes, Global Gateway and New EU-Ghana Cooperation, Accra Initiative, Strengthening Ghana’s Northern Regions, Maritime Security and EU Coordinated. Maritime Presence, Human Rights, Safety of Journalists, Sustainable Fisheries, Sustainable Cocoa Production, Sustainable Energy, Climate Change, Migration.
“Other multilateral issues discussed during the Dialogue included Russia-Ukraine War, Global Economic Crisis and Food Security,” it emphasized.
Patience Anaadem, ISD
