Ghana and Latvia have pledged to initiate processes that would help deepen the bilateral relations between their respective countries.
The commitment was made at the Jubilee House, Accra on Monday when the Latvian Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as part of his official working visit to Ghana.
The Latvian Foreign Minister’s visit follows a similar visit by Ghana’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, to Riga, the capital of Latvia on 19 and 20 July 2018.
In his remarks at the meeting, Edgars Rinkēvičs said his is a reciprocation of the earlier visit of Ghana’s foreign affairs minister some five years ago and also strengthen the already excellent relations that exist between Ghana and Latvia.
He indicated that apart from his official government team, he also came with a 17-member business delegation who are in the country to explore business opportunities that are available in Ghana.
Mr Rinkēvičs, in his statement said he noticed at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) that all the equipment that are used to scan arriving passengers are made in Latvia.
This he said was a clear sign that there exist business opportunities in Ghana for Latvian businesses and they will use their visit to unearth those avenues and opportunities.
On matters of security in the West Africa Region, Edgars Rinkēvičs assured that just as Latvia is dealing with the volatile security situation in Eastern Europe as a result of the Russia invasion of Ukraine, his country is committed to supporting Ghana and the rest of the region to deal with the treats of violent extremism and terrorism.
Ready to partner
President Akufo-Addo welcomed the Latvian delegation to Ghana and to his office. He expressed his administration’s readiness to partner with Latvia in the areas of trade, commence and security as expressed by the leader of the delegation, the Latvian foreign minister, Mr Edgars Rinkēvičs.
He added that there exists a strong basis for Ghana to seek stronger ties with Latvia which may be a country far from Ghana but evidence available points to the fact that Latvia already has strong investment footprints in Ghana.
Akufo-Addo registered his appreciation to the Latvian government for supporting efforts aimed at guaranteeing the security of the West Africa Region. He added that all future plans and support in that regard are very welcomed and he looks forward to same.
The country Latvia
Latvia is a parliamentary republic with a head of government, the prime minister, who chooses the council of ministers and a head of state, the president, who has a largely ceremonial role and nominates the prime minister.
The government remains subject to Parliament’s approval throughout each term. The country is subdivided into 110 one-level municipalities and 9 cities. These have their own city councils and municipal administrations.
The most important sectors of Latvia’s economy in 2020 were wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and food services (23.1%), public administration, defence, education, human health and social work activities (18.1%) and industry (15.4%).
Intra-EU trade accounts for 62% of Latvia’s exports (Lithuania 15%, Estonia 11% and Germany 7%), while outside the EU 13% go to Russia and 5% to the United Kingdom.
In terms of imports, 76% come from EU Member States (Lithuania 17%, Germany and Poland 10%), while outside the EU 6% come from Russia and 2% from Belarus.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
