Ghana and the Union of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (BENELUX) have agreed to deepen their bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
The commitment was made when the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey held bilateral and multilateral talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr. Wopke Hoekstra, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Mr. Jean Asselborn, and the Ambassador and Special Envoy for the Sahel of the Kingdom of Belgium, Mr. Bart De Groof on Monday in Accra as part of their two-day joint working visit to Ghana.
Madam Ayorkor Botchwey acknowledged Ghana’s long-standing relations with the BENELUX countries and lauded the shared efforts to expand the spheres of cooperation at both the bilateral and multilateral levels.
She also acknowledged the BENELUX countries’ contributions to peace and security in the Sahel and West Africa sub-regions in combating terrorism and violent extremist activities, as well as efforts to restore normalcy to affected countries.
The Minister encouraged BENELUX businesses to collaborate with their Ghanaian counterparts and take advantage of the opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
She expressed optimism that the fruitful discussions will contribute to the strengthening of relations between Ghana and the BENELUX Union, as well as between Ghana and the individual countries.
On their part, the BENELUX Foreign Ministers commended the Accra Initiative and pledged their support to address terrorism and violent extremist activities to restore normalcy to the affected countries in the sub-region.
The BENELUX Foreign Ministers also agreed to cooperate with Ghana at the multilateral level to address challenges such as climate change, and food insecurity amongst others.
Also present at the meeting was the Minister for National Security, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, officials of the Foreign Ministry and a delegation from the BENELUX countries.