Government Pursues Bilateral Agreements to Create Opportunities for Citizens
The Government is pursuing a series of bilateral agreements on labour mobility, visa waivers, scholarships, trade, investment and infrastructure to create more opportunities for Ghanaian.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, disclosed this during a media engagement after the bilateral meetings at the ongoing UN General Assembly Session in New York.
He said the agreements formed part of Ghana’s broader diplomatic engagements with strategic countries, with the focus on securing practical benefits for citizens.
Mr Ablakwa said the Ministry was engaging several countries on country-specific projects aimed at promoting job creation, industrialisation, value addition and infrastructure development.
He said more than 20 bilateral meetings had been carefully planned with countries considered well-resourced and capable of supporting Ghana’s development priorities.
The Minister said discussions with Qatar and Bahrain, for instance, had focused on ways to support Ghana to add value to its natural resources and establish more factories.
He said Ghana needed to move beyond exporting raw materials at low value and instead develop industries that would create jobs and retain more value within the country.
“We want to create opportunities in Africa, in our country, in Ghana,” he said.
Mr Ablakwa said the bilateral engagements were also aimed at supporting the country’s young population through increased economic opportunities.
He said the Government was also engaging countries on infrastructure agreements, particularly in the railway sector, while discussions on labour mobility and visa arrangements would create additional opportunities for Ghanaians.
The Minister said the Government’s approach was to ensure that diplomatic engagements produced tangible outcomes for the Ghanaian people.
“I will not go into any meeting without a tangible, concrete benefit for the Ghanaian people,” he said.
Joyce Adwoa Animia Ocran, ISD
