Israel to deepen longstanding diplomatic, economic ties with Ghana
The relationship between Israel and Ghana has always been cordial, but the former is keen on further strengthening the longstanding diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Sharren Miriam Haskel, says her country seeks to build strategic collaboration in the areas of economic, cultural and security.
Ms Haskel was among a host of diplomatic dignitaries who attended the inauguration of Ghana’s newly elected President, John Dramani Mahama last Tuesday.
Having been appointed two months ago, Ms Haskel used her first official visit to Ghana to highlight the importance of maintaining a strong relationship with Ghana in a meeting with some media personnel.
Diplomatic relations
Ghana and the State of Israel enjoy good diplomatic relations. Ghana was the first African country to establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel, in 1958. Before then, Israel had with the permission of the then colonial power, Britain, already established a Consulate in Accra (in November 1956) prior to Ghana’s attainment of independence in 1957.
The two countries maintained resident Ambassadors and for close to 15 years (1958-1973) Ghana and Israel enjoyed very warm and cordial relations. Some of the major areas of cooperation between the two countries during the period included shipping; construction; agriculture; labour issues; manpower training; science and medicine; security matters and culture.
Ghana, however, broke off diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973 in compliance with an OAU (now African Union) resolution that requested all member states to sever diplomatic relations with Israel following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war in which Israel seized the Sinai Peninsula which is an integral part of Egypt.
Ghanaian Solidarity
Ms Haskel expressed gratitude for the solidarity shown by Ghanaians during Israel’s recent challenges, saying “We have received countless messages and prayers from the Ghanaian people, and their unwavering support has been a source of strength for us,”
“I cannot explain how much strength it gives Israelis to see what true friends we have. Because during difficult periods, that’s when you discover your true friends. And the Ghanaian people sharing their love and their prayer have stood up,” she conveyed. Ms Haskel, also a Member of Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) emphasised, “We are very grateful to have such strong alliance and friendship with the Ghanaian people.”
Israel is taking strategic measures and is being implemented to boost exports and imports while fostering mutual economic growth though the war had impacted trade significantly, Israel was determined to explore new opportunities and strengthen its partnership with Ghana, expressing optimism about the potential for increased trade between the two nations.
Symbolic visit
She described her visit as a symbolic message from the Israeli government to strengthen the enduring friendship between Ghana and Israel and underscored Israel’s commitment to fostering partnerships that mutually benefited both countries.
“This is my first official visit since being appointed two months ago,” she said, and added that her visit to Ghana reaffirmed the Israeli Government’s dedication to enhancing the longstanding bond with the Ghanaian people while highlighting the historical and cultural parallels between Israel and Ghana, emphasizing shared values and aspirations, “We have much to learn from each other and many opportunities to collaborate.”
Ghana’s commitments to agriculture and food security aligned perfectly with Israel’s advancements in farming technology, and the country would explore ways to share knowledge and resources to address those critical issues and outline several key areas for collaboration, including advanced farming techniques, cybersecurity and renewable energy, highlighting the immense potential for solar energy development in Ghana.
Energy sector
Ms Haskel said Israel’s cutting-edge solar technology could play a pivotal role in supporting Ghana’s energy needs and added that her visit to Ghana was part of a broader vision to strengthen Israel’s global partnerships, especially in Africa while hinting at Israel’s plans to collaborate with the government of Ghana to enhance electricity projects as part of efforts to boost the country’s energy sector, the initiative aims to address challenges related to electricity consumption, ensuring a more reliable power supply to support the nation’s growth.
The collaboration is essential not only for improving access to electricity but also for fostering bilateral relations between the two countries. “Israel must support Ghana to achieve this giant initiative so that electricity consumption in the country will not come with challenges,” Haskel stated.
A modernised agricultural system could offer sustainable growth for the country and point out the significant role modern agriculture plays in ensuring food security and encouraging the youth to engage in farming. “Modern agriculture plays a huge role in promoting food security and encouraging the youth to venture into the sector”.
Golda Meir’s dedication
Acknowledging the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s dedication to African nations she said the legacy continued to inspire Israel’s foreign policy. “Prime Minister, Meir saw Africa as a key partner in mutual growth and development. Her vision is one we continue to uphold and we express optimism about the future of Ghana-Israel relations to achieve remarkable progress”.
The Ambassador of Israel to Ghana, Roey Gilad emphasised the importance of translating the strong bilateral ties into actionable projects as Israel aimed to advance economic, cultural, and strategic cooperation with Ghana to yield tangible benefits for both nations and noted that discussions with the President and the Vice-President focused on among others, trade and investment, including the potential for new fields such as cyber and solar energy to make the economic partnership more significant.
Bilateral trade
While providing an update on bilateral trade between the two nations, he revealed that Israel’s exports to Ghana reached $5.4 million in 2024, while imports from Ghana totalled $1.9 million and expressed concern over a decline in trade volumes in recent years, citing the impact of the ongoing conflict in Gaza on Israel’s economy.
“We are optimistic about increasing these trade volumes moving forward. However, we have observed a decline in recent years. For instance, in 2022, our trade volume was nearly $22 million, but unfortunately, it has decreased since then,” he explained.
Despite the decline in trade, Mr Gilad emphasised the broader scope of economic relations which include investment opportunities between Israel and Ghana.
Israel’s focus is also on peace in Africa because it believes that war costs a country so much and it is always right to promote peaceful coexistence while emphasising the need for stability to achieve developmental goals and reassure the public that despite regional challenges, Israel remains safe for residents and tourists.