Ghana, Kenya elevate ties to Bi-National Commission

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Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (right) and Dr Musalia Mudavadi showing copies of the agreement document Photo: Ebo Gorman

Ghana and Kenya have agreed to strengthen and expand the scope of their 61- year-old bilateral relations in order to unlock more socio-economic benefits for the citizens of both countries.

In view of this, the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) that governs economic growth and technical cooperation between the two countries, is to be elevated into Bi-National Commission.

Unlike the PJCC which is co-chaired by the foreign affairs ministers, this new commission would be headed by the two presidents to deliberate on and implement new mutually beneficial programmes.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, disclosed this at the Ministerial Segment of the Second session of the Ghana-Kenya PJCC held in Accra yesterday.

The PJCC, started last Wednesday, is being attended by a delegation from Kenya led by Dr Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.

Ms Botchwey said the elevation of the relations between the two countries to that of a Bi-National Commission was the desire of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the former Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta.

She announced that a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of the new commission was among legal frameworks to be signed this week to guide the new direction of the relations between the two countries.

She said over the past 61 years , the Ghana-Kenya bond of friendship had remained steadfast, leading to fruitful collaboration across diverse sectors, including politics, economics, tourism, culture, and humanitarian spheres.

Ms Botchwey said the commercial exchange between the two countries had witnessed a remarkable surge and yielded substantial results that further solidify the fulfilment of shared aspirations.

She urged the business communities of the two countries to seize the opportunity afforded by the upcoming business forum to establish joint ventures as well as individual businesses within the Africa Continental Free Trade Area framework for mutual benefit.

For his part, Dr Mudavadi described the meeting as an important milestone in the longstanding relations between the two countries and Kenya’s presence as a shared commitment to exploring the full potential of the cordial relations between the two countries.

“This signifies our collective desire to reinvigorate our cooperation and strengthen the strong fraternal bonds between our two nations,” he said.

Dr Mudavadi said Kenya was keen on expanding cooperation with Ghana beyond agriculture, information and technology, trade, transport, tourism, technical vocational education, energy, oil and gas among others.

“I am confident that this session will serve as motivation for the finalisation and signing of the pending Draft Instruments, as well as, an inspiration to further solidify our bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefit of the people of our two countries,” he said.

BY JONATHAN DONKOR