By Hauwa Ali
Ghana and Korea have pledged to further deepen their bilateral and economic relations especially on security, maritime, economic cooperation and development after it was first established in 1977.
The two countries made the pledge when the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Han Duck-Soo paid a visit to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the weekend at the Jubilee House as part of the Korean leader’s three-day state visit to Ghana.
Korea is one of Ghana’s most important partners in trade, and investment cooperation, as well as a partnership in the international arena.
Addressing Prime Minister Duck-Soo and his delegation, President Akufo-Addo said Ghana admired Korea’s development model and believed that Ghana could emulate such a paradigm for her rapid development.
The President said Ghana was focused on developing a strong nuclear energy sector and wanted to tap into Korean expertise in that regard.
President Akufo-Addo added that after the visit of Prime Minister Duck-Soo, Ghana’s Ambassador to Korea, would liaise with the relevant institutions in Ghana and Korea to kick-start the process of cooperation in that sector.
In the area of infrastructure, President Akufo-Addo, Ghana was looking forward to the assistance of Korea to construct a state-of-the-art bridge over the Volta lake to link the mainland to the Afram Plains.
Ghana’s main concern, according to President Akufo-Addo, was the distribution of Korean funds to the country, the majority of which were loans and the rest concessional grants.
“We want to sit down with you to have a look in the immediate future and going forward, how we can reverse that formula.”.
The President said “finding means to develop and expand the relations–on security, maritime, economic cooperation and development–were some of the highlights “in that respect we welcome you here in Ghana.”
Prime Minister of Korea, Han Duck-Soo, noted that after 45 years Ghana-Korea diplomatic relations, his country was ready to take the cooperation to the next level.
The Korean Prime Minister said his visit to Ghana was to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and promote his country’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the south-eastern port of Busan.
Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo hinted that the new President of Korea Yoon Suk-Yeol is keen on reviving the “Africa – Korea Forum” which has not been held in a long time.
He said Korea was poised to deepen its relations economically with African countries, especially, Ghana “so that we all prosper together.”
The Prime Minister’s three-day visit to Ghana marks the first high-level trip by a high Korean official to Ghana.
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