President Mahama holds talks with Deputy UK Prime Minister, São Tomé President

 President John Dramani Mahama over the weekend held bilateral engagements with An­gela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and President of São Tomé, Carlos Manuel Vila Nova.

The engagements were to deepen the existing re­lationships between Ghana and the two countries.

In the meeting with the Deputy UK Prime Min­ister, Angela Rayner, at the Presidency in Accra on Friday, President Mahama said there was not going to be any shift in Ghana’s foreign policy with its former colonial master.

“We even want to work to move our relations to an even higher level so it’s a good visit,” President Mahama said.

The visit of the Deputy UK Prime Minister, President Mahama said was a sign of the warm relation the two countries have shared over the decades.

“We have a lot of bilateral cooperation that we want to look at and see how we can align some of those to fit the vision of the new government,” he stated.

Those areas of cooperation, he said would be discussed with the UK’s representatives so as fast track them to fit into the agenda of the govern­ment.

According to President Mahama, jobs were a key issue for Ghana’s young population which his government was determined to tackle.

“So, we are working to see how we can bring in more investments, especially considering the fact that we’ve been shut out of the international credit market, to bring in more foreign direct investments to be able to create jobs for young people, it is one of the things we are going to be focusing on,” he said.

He commended UK firms which have invested in Ghana over the years and encouraged them to explore existing opportunities in the country.

The Deputy UK Prime Minister, on her part commended President Mahama for his electoral victory and pledged the Kingdom’s long-standing commitment to supporting Ghana’s development.

“A long history of supporting your endeavors is what we’re going to continue to do. And I think that we can achieve great things together,” she said.

Ms Rayner said Ghana and the UK shared a common goal of economic growth to better the living standards of its people through the creation of sustainable jobs.

On Saturday, however, President Mahama re­ceived his São Tomé counterpart where they held discussion of mutual benefit to their respective countries.

The discussion between Presidents Mahama and Vila Nova centered on the need to enhance cooperation between their two countries and share experiences in the area of oil and gas production.

In the meeting were the Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, National Security Advisor, Prosper Bani, Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, and Dr Edward Omane Boamah respectively and Presidential Advisor and Special Aide to the President, Joyce Bawah Mogtari.

 BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI

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