President of Germany to Visit Ghana

The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is expected to pay a state visit to Ghana from 11th to 13th December, 2017.

President Steinmeier is to be accompanied by the Federal Minister of 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.

He is also expected to be accompanied by 17 representatives of German companies that are working to realise Germany’s commitment under the G20 Compact with Africa to bring more investment to Ghana.

A statement copied to the GNA on Wednesday from the Cultural, Economic and Press Affairs Unit of the German Embassy said the state visit would be the first trip to an African country by President Steinmeier, since he took office in February, 2017.

“This underlines the close partnership between Ghana and Germany 60 years after establishing diplomatic relations,” it noted.

The statement said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would receive President Steinmeier on December 12th.

The visit would focus on discussions on the youth in Ghana, scientific and academic cooperation and migration, vocational training, investment and business promotion.

During the visit, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance and Germany’s Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Mr Friedrich Kitschelt, would sign the bilateral “Investment and Reform Partnership” agreement.

The agreement would bring up to 100 million Euros of the German Government’s support to promote private investment into renewable energy in Ghana as well as vocational training.

The private investment is Germany’s commitment under the G20 Compact with Africa, which was signed in Berlin in June, 2017.

A cooperation agreement for the opening of a Merian International Centre for Advanced Studies at the University of Ghana would be signed under the auspices of President Steinmeier, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development, Professor Francis Dodoo, and the Director of the Arnold-Bergstraesser Institute of the University of Freiburg, Germany, Professor Andreas Mehler, would also append signatures.

The Centre, the first of its kind in Africa, has a thematic focus on sustainable governance and would be supported by the German Ministry for Education and Research.

While in the country, President Steinmeier would hold a discussion at the University of Ghana, Legon, with academics and students as well as visit the West-African Transport Academy in Tema, which is a Public Private Partnership between the German investors Scania, Bosch, and ZF on one side, and German Development Cooperation on the other. The Academy offers state of the art training facilities for young Ghanaians.

Under the support for Start-Up companies in Ghana, President Steinmeier would also meet with young Ghanaian entrepreneurs who are currently being supported by Germany to help them develop their businesses and link them with international ones.

The German President would also attend the sod-cutting ceremony at the new Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration in Accra.

The Centre offers advice on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) opportunities in Ghana, supports returnees from Europe in their reintegration, provides information on the risks of irregular migration and 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. President Steinmeier would have encounters with experts and staff of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and get first-hand information on the security situation in West Africa. Germany is one of the main supporters of KAIPTC.

Source: GNA