Ghana, Nepal establish diplomatic ties

Ghana has officially established diplomatic ties with Nepal, a communique to that effect was signed between Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, and her Nepalese counterpart, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, in New York, USA, on the sidelines of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Ms Botchwey said the establishment of diplomatic relations marked the beginning of an important chapter in bilateral relations between the two countries.

She said as members of the United Nations, Ghana and Nepal subscribed to common values and principles, which made the decision to establish formal bilateral relations necessary.

According to the minister, that would afford the two countries the opportunity to cooperate effectively at the multilateral level on matters of mutual interest, such as the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) Agenda 2030, on issues of climate, reforms of the UN, promotion of international peace and security and fair international trade practices.

Other advantages

She further explained that the signing of the agreement would provide opportunities for stronger and sustained bilateral cooperation between Ghana and Nepal in various areas and sectors, such as agriculture and agro-processing, textiles, the extractive industry, manufacturing and tourism.

She added that Africa represented the future of global trade and investment because of its natural resource endowments and human resource.

Other advantages were Africa’s impressive economic growth and expanding market size, she said.

Ms Botchwey also cited the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which she said also had the potential to propel the continent’s growth and development.

She, therefore, invited Nepal and its neighbours and partners to turn to Africa, in particular Ghana, in search of new development partners.

She said Ghana was looking forward to building a genuine friendship and partnership with Nepal and expressed the confidence that both sides would work diligently to achieve the objectives of their bilateral relations.