The Guyana Government is set to host the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is arriving later tonight for a high-level two-day visit.
The State visit was announced by President David Granger two weeks ago when he accredited the new Ghanaian High Commissioner to Guyana. The Guyanese Head of State had disclosed that he met President Akufo-Addo twice – first, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference last year and again this year, in Cuba, where the African Leader accepted an invitation to visit Georgetown.
During his two-day visit, the Ghanaian President will be spending his time “deepening and strengthening the cordial relationship” the two countries have built over the past 40 years. President Akufo-Addo will arrive in Guyana around 23:00h today and depart on June 12.
President Granger had previously noted that his Ghanaian counterpart’s visit will result in practical measures aimed at enhancing relations and cooperation between our two states, particularly in the fields of agriculture, culture, energy, environment, investment, petroleum production, Private Sector cooperation, tourism and transportation.
This State-visit comes on the heels of a recent visit by a large Ghanaian delegation two weeks ago to engage local stakeholders on areas of mutual interest in the oil and gas sector, among others.
The more than 15-member team, led by Ghana’s Energy Minister and Deputy Minister (Petroleum) Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, had met with a number of Government Ministers and officials including those from the Department of Energy.
Although Guyana officially established diplomatic relations with Ghana on May 14, 1979, Guyana’s Independence movement was greatly influenced by Pan-Africanist and first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. During the celebration of Ghana’s Independence in March 1957, Guyana’s political leaders, Dr Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham travelled to the West African State to attend the festivities. Throughout their years of leadership, both Presidents Jagan and Burnham maintained good relations with Ghana.
Guyana has long shared common interests with those of the Republic of Ghana. In fact, President Granger and many Guyanese historians have documented the contributions of Africans in Guyana, highlighting specifically the contributions of the “Maroon people”. This African group, who came to Guyana through the Atlantic slave trade, originated in West Africa as a part of the group of Asante people who lived in a region of what is now modern-day Ghana.
