Kenya and Ghana sign agreement on cooperation

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed. [PHOTO: STANDARD/FILE]

By PSCU

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA: Kenya and Ghana have signed an agreement that will boost economic growth and technical cooperation.

The agreement signed on Wednesday encourages cooperation in trade and investment, energy and mineral resources, agriculture and livestock development. It will also promote cooperation in education, health, tourism and culture, science and technology, security and military cooperation, foreign affairs, legal and judicial matters.

The agreement on general cooperation was signed by Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Amb Amina Mohamed, and her Ghanaian counterpart, Ms Hanna Serwaah Tetteh at the Kenyan Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

According to the agreement, the two countries will form a permanent joint commission for cooperation composed of ministers with responsibilities in the agreed areas assisted by experts from the two governments to facilitate implementation of projects.

The two ministers also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Political consultations between the two countries. The MoU aims at establishing and regulating political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Kenya and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana.

Speaking after the brief signing ceremony, Amb Mohamed said the two agreements would lay the foundation for Kenya and Ghana to cooperate in areas that would improve the lives of the citizens of the two countries.

She singled out trade as an area that would greatly benefit from the signing of the agreements.

“It is a pity that the agreements were not signed earlier although Kenya and Ghana’s relationship go back a long time in history. I am, however, pleased that these agreements are signed during my time in office,” Amb. Mohamed said.

She said the potential for trade between the two countries is enormous and disclosed that Kenya will open a high commission in Ghana within the first half of the year.

On her part, Ms Tetteh welcomed the signing of the agreements, saying they would pave the way for closer working cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

The Ghanaian Foreign Minister said the agreements will create a platform to discuss various areas that would unlock the economic potential of the two countries. She cited exchanges in the IT sector as one of the areas that the two countries could immediately exploit in their cooperation.

“There is so much that the people of our two nations can share to improve their living standards,” the Ghanaian Foreign Minister said.

Ms Tetteh said she was prepared to work with Amb Mohamed in consolidating and taking the relations between Kenya and Ghana to higher levels.

The two foreign ministers are in Addis Ababa for the African Union (AU) Ministerial meeting ahead of the 22nd Ordinary Summit of the AU Heads of State and Government which opens tomorrow. President Uhuru Kenyatta was expected to arrive in Addis Ababa later on Wednesday for the summit.