President Mahama confers with leading member of China’s Communist Party
President John Dramani Mahama yesterday held discussions with the Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on how the two countries can work closely to improve their diplomatic and economic ties.
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Mr Yu Zhengsheng, who is a leading figure in China’s Communist Party, is in Ghana on a state visit.
He is on a three-nation African tour which has already taken him to Cote d’Ivoire and Gabon.
Diplomatic relations
Setting the tone for the discussions, the President said Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to establish diplomatic relations with China when it attained independence in 1957.
He said relations between the two countries were based on the personal friendship between Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and the then Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai.
President Mahama said since the inception of friendship between China and Ghana, the two nations had continued to reinforce their relationship through economic and political engagements.
He recalled the visit by the late President John Evans Atta Mills to China in 2010 to mark Ghana’s 50th year of bilateral relations with China before he, then Vice-President, followed up to sign an agreement on the EXIM Bank loan facility for Ghana.
The President stated that Ghana was following China’s development agenda with keen interest, adding that he and the Chinese President were on the same trajectory of being Vice-Presidents in their respective countries before becoming Presidents.
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That trajectory, he said, must form the basis for the two countries working closely together.
Support for Ghana
He mentioned some Chinese assisted projects, including the Bui Hydro power project, the Sunon Asogli plant, the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant and the Kpong water project which currently produces 40 million gallons of water daily.
President Mahama alluded to the edifice housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cape Coast Stadium and the new Finance Ministry building which he indicated were products of China’s friendship with Ghana.
He thanked the Chinese government for extending a $300,000 assistance for the supply of equipment for Ghana’s Parliament.
He said he had set up a task force to renegotiate with the Chinese Development Bank for the possibility of assessing the botched $3 billion Chinese loan.
Chinese leader
Responding, Mr Yu said he was impressed by Ghana’s social stability and economic prosperity.
He said the purpose of his visit was to further enhance the friendship between the two countries and also conclude negotiations on the last Forum for China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He stated that Ghana and China had always supported each other on issues concerning their core and major interests, keeping close co-operation with a focus on South-South co-operation.
Writer’s email: sebastian.syme@graphic.com.gh