Let’s shift EU ties from aid to trade, investment — President Mahama

Ghana’s partnership with the European Union (EU) must move from one largely centred on aid and development assistance to one that is increasingly driven by trade, investment, innovation, industrialisation and shared prosperity, President John Dramani Mahama has said.

The President stated that the relationship had evolved beyond traditional development cooperation into a strategic partnership founded on democratic values and shared interests.

He was speaking at the opening session of the Ghana-EU Partnership Dialogue in Accra last Thursday.

Interconnectedness

The President said the EU and Ghana were meeting at a time when the international system was undergoing profound transformation, stressing that, in such a world, partnerships anchored in trust, mutual respect and shared interests became not merely desirable, but indispensable.

The President described the Ghana-EU as “ultimately one of interconnected destinies”, stressing that, “when Ghana prospers, opportunities expand for European businesses and when Europe prospers, Ghana benefits from stronger trade, investment, innovation and technology transfer”.

He added that as the world faced growing fragmentation, the government believed that partnerships, such as those with the EU, must become stronger, more equitable and more strategic.

“Our objective should not be merely to maintain existing cooperation, but to elevate it to a whole new level,” he stated.

Economic recovery

President Mahama said the economy was showing encouraging signs of recovery and resilience after emerging last year from one of its most challenging periods. 

He cited fiscal consolidation, macroeconomic stability and private sector-led growth, with inflation trending downward and investor confidence returning.

“Macroeconomic stability is not an end in itself. The true measure of success will be translating the improved economic conditions into better livelihoods for Ghanaian citizens,” he said.

He added that central to that transformation is the government’s flagship “24-Hour Economy” initiative and accelerated export development programme, aimed at unlocking productivity across agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, transport, tourism and digital services.

“Our goal is simple, to ensure that Ghana produces more, exports more and creates more jobs for our young people.

The future of Ghana’s economy lies not in exporting raw materials, but in producing higher value goods and services,” he said.

Industrialisation

Marking decades of the Ghana-EU Partnership Agreement, President Mahama said the next phase should support local manufacturing, technology transfer, skills development and participation in global value chains.

On digital transformation, the President said Ghana was committed to becoming a leading digital hub and sought deeper EU collaboration on digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and data governance.

He said Ghana remained committed to climate action through the European Green Deal and a just transition using natural gas while accelerating renewables. Under the Feed Ghana programme, the government will soon lay a new cocoa bill before Parliament, guaranteeing farmers 70 per cent of the world market price and targeting 50 per cent local processing of beans.

Support

For his part, the EU Ambassador to Ghana, Rune Skinnebach, said the European Union (EU) was ready to support Ghana’s shift towards trade, investment and industrialisation.

He commended the government’s remarkable economic recovery and stabilisation, stressing that the country had outperformed targets under the IMF Extended Credit Facility.

Mr Skinnebach urged the government to facilitate timely approvals for projects. He flagged hurdles for European businesses, including difficulties with permits and land titles, port delays, and “new steep e-visa fees for non-Africans,” which he said would not help mobilise investment or tourism.

Security partnership

Mr Skinnebach underscored the new Security and Defence Partnership Agreement signed earlier this year by the Vice-President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and the EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s first with an African country.

The partnership, now worth over €100 million, focuses on equipment, training and preventing violent extremism spill-over from the Sahel.

He reaffirmed the EU’s readiness to engage at next week’s high-level conference on the passed UN resolution on transatlantic slavery, although the EU abstained from its adoption.