German President's visit to solidify ties with Ghana

Dec 12, 2017
3 min read

The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has begun a state visit to Ghana. The three-day working visit is from December 11 to December 13. The German president is accompanied by the Federal Minister for Economy and Energy, Mrs Brigitte Zypries, the Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Friedrich Kitschelt, the State Minister at the German Foreign Office, Maria Böhmer as well as a substantial business delegation and guests from civil society. This is the first trip to an African country by President Steinmeier since he took office in February 2017. According to the German Embassy in Ghana the visit “underlines the close partnership between Ghana and Germany 60 years after establishing diplomatic relations.” President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will officially host President Steinmeier on December 12th, 2017. The visit will focus on the youth in Ghana, on scientific and academic cooperation and migration, on vocational training as well as on investment and business promotion. A press release from the German Embassy in Accra further states areas of cooperation between both countries to include support for new investment priorities in Africa, promoting research between both countries, stronger partnerships, support for startups, security and job creation. Here are further details on the areas of cooperation between both countries: German support for the G20 Compact with Africa / New Investment Partnership Under the auspices of the two presidents, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the German Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Friedrich Kitschelt, will sign the bilateral “Investment and Reform Partnership”, bringing up to 100 million Euros of German government support to promote private investment into renewable energy in Ghana as well as vocational training. The investment partnership supports Germany’s commitments under the G20 Compact with Africa, which was signed in Berlin in June 2017. The President will be accompanied by 17 representatives of German companies realizing Germany’s commitment under the G20 Compact with Africa to bring more German investment to Ghana. Reinforcing research cooperation between Germany and Africa Under the auspices of the President and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon, the Pro Vice-Chancelor for Research, Innovation and Development., Francis Dodoo, and the Director of the Arnold-Bergstraesser Institute of the University of Freiburg, Germany, Andreas Mehler, will sign a cooperation agreement for the opening of a Merian International Center for Advanced Studies at the University of Ghana. The Center has a thematic focus on sustainable governance and will be supported by the German Ministry for Education and Research. The Center will be the first of its kind in Africa. Stronger partnership between Europe and Africa President Steinmeier will conduct a discussion at the University of Ghana, Legon, with academics and students. Vocational Training He will visit the West-African Transport Academy (WATA) in Tema, which is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the German investors Scania, Bosch, and ZF on the one side and German Development Cooperation on the other side. The Academy offers state of the art training facilities for young Ghanaians. Support for Start-Up companies in Ghana President Steinmeier will also meet with young Ghanaian entrepreneurs (start-ups) who are currently being supported by Germany with the aim of developing their business and linking them with international businesses. Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration The German president will attend the sod-cutting ceremony at the new Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration in Accra. As of December, the Center offers advice on technical and vocational education and training opportunities in Ghana, supports returnees from Europe in their reintegration, provides information on the risks of irregular migration and on the possibilities for legal migration to Europe. It will make use of the extensive network of German cooperation in Ghana, especially in the areas of TVET and agriculture. Security situation in the region President Steinmeier will have encounters with experts and staff of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping training Center (KAIPTC) and get first-hand information on the security situation in West Africa. Germany is one of the main supporters of KAIPTC.