Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have agreed to establish a Joint Committee for the Implementation of the ITLOS judgement where leaders of the two countries will meet at least once every year, alternately in each other’s country to guide anpd promote the implantation of the common strategic policies.
After two days of deliberations, during the visit of the Ivorian leader His Excellency Alassane Ouattara to Ghana, the two countries signed Agreements including a Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Government of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire; Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Government of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire for Geological and Mineral Cooperation; Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Government of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire for Industrial Cooperation.
The two leaders, His Excellency Alassane Ouattara and President Akufo-Addo also signed Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of a Joint Technical Experts Sub-Committee for the Monitoring of Pollution from the Illegal Mining activities in the Bia and Tano River Basins shared between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
President Akufo-Addo bestowed the honour of “The Companion of the Star of Ghana, , Honorary Division”, Ghana’s highest civilian national honour on President Ouattara for his untiring efforts at ensuring social justice, peace and security at the domestic as well as the international level for his leadership qualities.
President Ouattara on his part, expressed his gratitude to President Akufo-Addo for the very warm welcome and brotherly hospitality accorded him and his delegation in Ghana.
President Ouattara expressed his appreciation to the Government and people of Ghana for the overwhelming love and enthusiasm shown him from the moment he set foot on Ghanaian soil and indicated that his visit and that of President Akuffo-Addo’s visit to Cote d’ Ivoire in May this year was a clear manifestation of the exemplary ties between the two countries.
He thanked the Government and People of Ghana for the immense support and solidarity demonstrated during the Ivorian crisis and fondly recalled the crucial role played by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who was then the Foreign Minister of Ghana, by taking a principled and objective stance that ensured the peaceful resolution of the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire. In this connection, President Ouattara thanked President Akufo-Addo for his personal efforts in ensuring the return of Cote d’Ivoire to the path of democracy.
At the invitation of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, paid a working and friendly visit to Ghana from 16th to 17th October, 2017.
President Ouattara was accompanied by a high powered delegation comprising Ministers of State, members of Government and several Senior Officials.
The two Presidents held fruitful deliberations on a wide range of issues in a very cordial and fraternal atmosphere.
The two leaders also reviewed Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire bilateral relations, and agreed to continue to build on the existing special bonds of kinship and cooperation for the mutual benefit of their peoples.
Both Presidents indicated their commitment to ensure the continuous deepening of brotherly ties beyond the existing framework for bilateral cooperation, such as the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation, and agreed to boost the
momentum of Ghanaian-Ivorian Cooperation by establishing a strategic cooperation framework referred to as the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), which covers the following areas: a) Defence and Security, Cocoa and Cashew and other strategic crops, Maritime Cooperation, Mining, Energy and Environment, Transport and Economic Policies.
The two leaders noted that peace and security constituted a sine qua non for development and therefore, agreed to strengthen cooperation in the area of Defence and Security to combat human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking and the proliferation of arms and agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation for the development of a win-win strategy for a sustainable cocoa industry.
Both Presidents acknowledged the spirit of brotherliness with which the maritime dispute between the two countries was handled from the beginning and, in this connection, the two leaders expressed their commitment to ensure the smooth implementation of the ruling by the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on the delimitation of the maritime boundaries between the two countries.
By: Prosper Agbenyega