South Africa and Ghana need to work together through bilateral and multilateral avenues to advance the African economic integration and development agenda as envisaged in Agenda 2063.
These were the remarks of President Cyril Ramaphosa during a joint briefing with his Ghanaian counterpart President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Saturday following the successful signing of bilateral agreements.
South Africa and Ghana signed four memoranda of understanding agreements on International Relations, Transport, Agriculture and Gender. The President said that two more agreements will be signed virtually.
President Ramaphosa said that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for the African continent to become more “self-sufficient through industrialisation and increased manufacturing capacity.”
“The Africa Continental Free Trade Area is a means of achieving this and it confirms that the economic development of our continent is a responsibility that we share and from which we can all benefit,” he said.
Ramaphosa said that he and his counterpart wish to see increased trade in more value-added products between the two countries.
“It is about time that we develop regional value chains for our own agro-processed goods.
“We should further explore new areas of economic, trade and investment cooperation, especially in Ghana’s key sectors such as roads and railway infrastructure, mining, energy, manufacturing and agro-processing,” he said.
According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, there are over 200 South African companies registered in Ghana employing around 20,000 Ghanaians and 500 expats.
Over the past ten years, South African companies have undertaken over 170 projects in Ghana with a capital investment valued in excess of USD 1 billion.
The President thanked President Akufo-Addo for his hospitality and allowing for the State Visit to proceed while other countries closed South Africa out.
“We appreciate this show of solidarity from Ghana in the light of travel bans imposed by some countries on South Africa and sister countries in the region in response to the detection of the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus,” he said.
He noted that the bilateral relations between the Republic of South Africa and Republic of Ghana have grown exponentially over the years.
Addressing the media, President Akufo-Addo said that the purpose of the visit by President Ramaphosa is to re-affirm the ties of co-operation and the bonds of friendship between the two countries. The two leaders discussed at length how to boost further political and economic relations, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as well as cooperation at the continental and multilateral levels.
President Akufo-Addo extended his gratitude to President Ramaphosa for supporting Ghana’s bid for the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
“Ghana will make sure that Africa’s voice is heard loud and clear in the deliberations of the Security Council, both on matters affecting the continent and on global issues, and we will consult broadly to define Africa’s interests,” he said.
President Addo-Dankwa added that Ghana will continue to collaborate with South Africa to find solutions to challenges such as the eradication of widespread poverty, elimination of irregular migration, insecurity and human rights violations among others.
Source: South African Government News Agency