Ghana and Italy have renewed their determination to deepen the ties of cooperation and bond of friendship, as well as continue to explore areas of mutual interests for the benefit of their respective populations.
Relations between the two countries span several decades, where Ghana have had many Italian companies operating in various sectors of its economy, especially, the Italian engineering firm, Impregilo, which constructed the Akosombo Dam.
The relations between Ghana and Italy deepened even further when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, held bilateral discussions with the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinal Palace, in Rome, Italy, as part of the President’s 4-day official visit to that country.
In his remarks, President Sergio Mattarella lauded Ghana’s continued adherence to democracy, good governance, rule of law and democratic accountability which had made the country a beacon of democracy and stability in the West Africa region as well as the continent of Africa.
The Italian President commended the Accra Initiative, an initiative to combat Jihadist attacks, terrorist threats and violent extremism in the Sahel region and pledged his country’s support to its implementation as well as combating piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, adding: “the stability of the Sahel is important”.
Both leaders agreed that the quest for the development of their respective economies would not be possible amidst chaos and armed conflict, particularly for West African countries, the jihadist and terrorist threat in the Sahel region.
The issue of redesigning the global financial and economic architecture, according to the two Presidents, were imperative to ensure that systems of injustice and inequity in the global financial sector are corrected to enable it to be well responsive to the needs of the world.
President Mattarella and President Akufo-Addo were unanimous in their call for the reform of the United Nations Security Council, which, in the words of the Ghanaian leader, is long overdue.
The two Presidents agreed that “the matter of UN Reform be given priority on the global agenda. It is time to correct the longstanding injustice that the current structure and composition of the UN Security Council represent for the nations of Africa.
“We are encouraged, though, by the attitudes and sentiments of two leaders of the five Permanent Member countries of the Security Council — President Joe Biden and President Emmanuel Macron.”
The US President and the French President are the first leaders to call publicly for reforms in the UN Security Council.
“We look forward to the leaders of the three other Permanent Members also throwing their support behind the reform process,” the Ghanaian President said.
President Akufo-Addo on his part thanked the Italian government, as a member of the Creditors Committee under the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment in Ghana’s finance restructuring efforts, that helped the country to secure a $3 billion Extended Credit Facility from the International Monetary Fund.
Collaboration with Italy in the development of Ghana’s pharmaceutical and agro-based industries, President Akufo-Addo said, that was one of his main agenda for his visit to that country.
He emphasised that it would be one of the matters he would discuss with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni on Monday, 24th July.
Whilst in Italy, President Akufo-Addo is expected to deliver the keynote address at the 4th ECAM Summit in Rome, which has been organised as a sideline event to coincide with the Coordination Hub of the UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment in Rome.
The Summit will discuss challenges and opportunities in the fields of healthcare and food safety in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.