President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to depart Accra on Sunday, May 16, 2021 for a nine-day economic diplomacy visits to France, Belgium, and South Africa.
The three-nation tour, according to a statement by the Presidency on Thursday, in Accra, is in line the administration’s drive to re-engage with the international community and promote Ghana as “a country with an impressive business-friendly atmosphere and bright economic prospects for the future”.
According to President Akufo-Addo’s engagements abroad, he will be attending a Summit on Financing African Economies in Paris, France on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
It added that the Summit, convened by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, will bring together some African and European leaders, and heads of international financial institutions to devise strategies that will boost strong, inclusive recovery in Africa, whose economies have been hard hit by the effects of COVID-19.
The meeting, according to the statement, is expected to help foster sustainable progress and prosperity in Africa and accelerate the green and digital transition in line with the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The Summit is also expected to agree on key common rules and enforcement mechanisms that will contribute to securing strong, sustainable growth in Africa.
According to local media reports in Accra, President Akufo-Addo will in Paris hold bilateral discussions with the President of the World Bank, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, who will both be attending the Summit.
The reports said that on May 19, the Ghanaian President would, at the invitation of the President of the European Council, Mr. Charles Michel, be in Brussels, Belgium, to hold bilateral talks with the President and officials of the European Council, and meet with stakeholders committed to the partnership between Ghana and the European Union.
President Akufo-Addo is expected to discuss with regional security, sustainability issues in the cocoa and fisheries sectors of Ghana and their impact on relations between Ghana and the European Union with Mr. Michael. He is also expected to meet with the President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Dr. Werner Hoyer, and participate in the ceremony for the signing of a €160 million facility between EIB and the Ghana’s Ministry of Finance, for the establishment of the National Development Bank.
He will also attend an investor conference in Brussels on Ghana, and hold a meeting with Ms. Jutta Urpilainen, the EU Commissioner on International Co-operation, to discuss issues relating to the COVAX Facility, which is currently supplying COVID-19 vaccines to Ghana.
President Akufo-Addo is scheduled to address the Fourth Ordinary Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) on Monday, May 24, 2021 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Ghanaian leader, who is expected back in Ghana on May 25, will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, and officials of the Presidency, and the Foreign and Finance Ministries, while the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, the Minister of Food and Agriculture and the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD are expected to join him in Brussels.
GIK/APA