German Chancellor pays two-day visit to Ghana

The first ever visit of a German Leader to Ghana begins on Friday January 23, when Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder breezes into town for a 48-hour stay.

The visit, which is at the invitation of President John Agyekum Kufuor, forms part of a four-nation African tour that has already taken him to Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa.

The German Embassy in Accra told the GNA that one of the main purposes of the tour was to make visible Germany's commitment to strengthening political change and sustainable development in Africa. It is also meant to intensify Germany's cooperation with the African Union; Sub-Regional Organization such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African states that have embarked upon a wide range of reforms in the political and economic spheres.

It is expected that Chancellor Schroeder would make some policy statements on the new direction of German foreign policy and announce some financial relief to the countries.

Ghana expects Germany to slice off some of its debts under the Highly Indebted Poor Country's Initiative (HIPC) during the visit, Nana Akufo-Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs told the GNA on Tuesday. He said Germany agreed to cancel a substantial portion of Ghana's debt during President Kufuor's visit to Germany two years ago. In 1989, Germany cancelled all existing bilateral development debts totalling 268.3 million Euros and in 2003 went further to declare the intention of cancelling Ghana's debt to the former German Democratic Republic in full in the procedural framework of the enhanced HIPC Initiative.

It is not known exactly how much Germany might write off this time, but Nana Akufo-Addo described it as "substantial".

He said Germany had remained a solid partner helping to develop sustainable development pattern for Ghana in the area of roads, schools, bridges and balance of payment support among other things.

The Foreign Minister said Ghana counted Germany as an ally in its efforts at putting back on track the failed Cancun Talks on developing a fairer world trade system.

"Germany has been one of our great allies since independence," he said, adding that the visit of Chancellor Schroeder would mark a new level in the quality of relations between the two countries.

"We're counting on him (Schroeder) as an ally to help us obtain equitable share of access to the industrialized world," Nana Akufo-Addo said.

The Foreign Minister said Germany played an extremely important role in the G8 in support of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and that the Sub Region would encourage it to stay engaged in that process.

The German Embassy in Accra told the GNA that after 42 years of fruitful cooperation, German assistance to Ghana stood at 1,142 million Euros in loans and grants.

German-Ghanaian development cooperation shows total commitment of 1.685,99 million Deutsch marks since 1960; financial cooperation stands at 1.685,99 million Deutsch marks while technical cooperation in the closest sense stands at 240,5 million Euros.

German financial cooperation commitment for 2001 and 2002 was 30.7 million Euros with 11.5 million Euro being grant and technical cooperation being 15.3 million Euros.

Germany is fourth coming after the United Kingdom, World Bank/IMF and Japan in the line of multilateral donors of Ghana.

The German Chancellor would hold bilateral talks with President Kufuor on various issues after which they would co-chair the inauguration of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) on Saturday.

Germany has provided more than 3 million Euros for the construction of the KAIPTC and for technical equipment such as computer network, Internet connection and multimedia equipment for training.

Biography Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schr=F6der

Accra, Jan 21, GNA - The German Chancellor Gerhard Schr=F6der, who begins a two-day visit to Ghana on Friday January 23, was born in 1944 at Mossenberg.

From his early youth, he had to assume responsibility for the family. Chancellor Schr=F6der did not have the chance to get to know his father - soon after his birth, the father died as a soldier serving in Romania; his grave was only detected by chance in the year 2000.

The mother, whom Schr=F6der still affectionately calls "lion", remains his role model: "She literally defended us from perishing like a lioness defends her cubs from predators. She earned our living through menial jobs - working as a cleaner and a labourer. It was out of the question to even think of a secondary education for me. But she never gave up. And I have vowed to pay her back for what she has done for us."

That is one reason why Gerhard Schr=F6der as Federal Chancellor places so much value on a family policy that "really pays". To him this is not a question of ideology but rather of practical experience: "Society has to support those mothers who haven't got it easy from the start: so that their children, for whom they are prepared to do their utmost, can realize their potentials."

Education and Joining the SPD

Chancellor Schr=F6der took up an apprenticeship as a commercial clerk and worked with a hardware company until he finally learnt about the possibility of obtaining a secondary school education by attending evening classes, "which at that time was very rare".

He attended evening classes and obtained a Middle School Leaving Certificate and finally the University Entrance Certificate.

In 1966 he joined the Law Faculty at the University of Goettingen and obtained his first Law Degree in 1970. In 1976 he opened a law practice in the city of Hanover and in 1978 he was elected chairman of the Young Socialists (JUSO), the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

He succeeded in reconciling the differences within the youth wing and brought it closer to the "mother party" - though not without criticism. His last achievement as a member of the JUSO Executive was the fact that the Federal Congress of the Young Socialists jointly agreed to proceed to the "Anti-Nuclear-Village" of Gorleben in order to manifest their sympathy with the protest against nuclear energy and recycling of nuclear waste.

It was then to take another 20 years before a Federal Government that Chancellor Schr=F6der led took the decision to gradually withdraw from the use of nuclear energy.

Election to the Federal Parliament

In 1980 Schr=F6der was elected as a member of the Federal Parliament with 50 per cent of the votes in his electoral area. He delivered his "maiden speech" in the debate on: "Youth Protest in a Democratic Country". As the first Member of Parliament in the history of the Bundestag (German Parliament) he stepped forward to the podium and addressed his audience without wearing a tie, in order to illustrate to the audience how far the politicians have alienated themselves in their formal perception of decency and decorum from the realities of the everyday lives of the youth.

When CDU and FDP formed the Federal government in 1982, Chancellor Schr=F6der decided to continue his political career in his home state of Lower Saxony and in 1983 he was elected Chairman of the SPD District of Hanover.

In 1986 he was the flag bearer of the SPD in the Lower Saxony state elections, where he, however, suffered a defeat by a small margin of votes.

In 1990 he was elected Prime Minister of the State of Lower Saxony when SPD entered into a coalition with the Green Party. He was twice re-elected to this office in the elections in 1994 and 1998 with an absolute majority of votes.

Governance with Responsibility

During his tenure of office as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Chancellor Schr=F6der concentrated on modernising the economy and on pursuing a policy of sustainability of ecology and economy. Already at this point, Chancellor Schr?der's style of governing became manifest - establishment of a broad societal majority; "policy of discourse and consensus building".

Prominent examples were the commencement of talks on a systematic withdrawal from the use of nuclear energy, which came to a successful conclusion under his chancellorship in 2000. The reform of public administration towards a service-oriented government that went along with the citizenry rather than to rule it from above made definitive progress during Chancellor Schr=F6der's tenure of office in Lower Saxony. On several occasions the Prime Minister personally intervened through unorthodox measures in order to save jobs (DASA Lemwerder, Salzgitter Stahl).

Chancellor Schr=F6der has been the Chairman of the German Social Democratic Party, since the 12th of April 1999.

Election to the Office of Federal Chancellor

On the 27th of September 1998 the SPD won the election to the 14th German Parliament, with their flag bearer Chancellor Schr=F6der. With the majority votes of the SPD and B=FCndnis '90/ the Greens, he was elected as the Seventh German Chancellor.

Chancellor Schr=F6der is the first chancellor, who did not directly experience the Second World War. But already in his first year in office, he had to make a complicated decision in foreign policy - The decision to engage German soldiers to end the systematic violation of human rights by the Milosevic Regime in Kosovo and to create a permanent stability in the Balkans.

"In my entire political career, this has been the most difficult decision", Chancellor Schr=F6der said, adding: "But the involvement in Kosovo conferred with the majority of our international responsibilities, after we had regained our national sovereignty. And it was clear that without military involvement our political initiatives would have had no hope of success."

Programme: Modernisation and Reforms

During the same year under German Presidency of the European Union (EU), the G7 States put on the agenda the significant initiative to cancel the debts of the World's poorest countries.

Chancellor Schr=F6der said he saw first his first year in office as his "probation in foreign politics", which he passed with bravado. On the domestic front Chancellor Schr=F6der's government began a rigorous drive to initiate its campaign promises of "Innovation and Fairness".

These included the modernisation of the citizenship law, tax reform, pension reform, diverse initiatives in education and training ("Jump", "Schools on the net", "service law reforms for high school teachers"), re-direction in agricultural policies.

"No former government had initiated so many reforms at such a rapid pace and solved so many pressing issues as we have in such a short time-frame", Chancellor Schr=F6der said on the 19th of November 2001 at the SPD Convention, where he was re-elected as Chairman with 88.5 per cent of the vote.

On the foreign political front, the terrorist attacks on 11th September 2001 in New York and Washington presented a challenge that had never existed before, for Chancellor Schr=F6der and the Federal Government.

The Chancellor pledged Germany's prompt solidarity and was emphatically involved in the majority of contacts and dialogues in Europe and the World as a whole, in the creation of an international coalition against terrorism.

In the German Parliament he re-assured himself through a vote of confidence, on November 16 2001; the majority supported a wide ranging involvement in the fight against terrorism, "which builds a solid basis for an active German role in the creation of a World-order based on Peace, Human Rights and Balance of Interests".

Labour Market Reforms

Chancellor Schr?der's Government faced major challenges at the beginning of 2002 because of the effects 11th September had on the World economy.

The resultant economic slump on the World Markets had direct effects on trade and economic growth in Germany. Although 1.2 million jobs had been created since the inauguration of Chancellor Schr=F6der's government, the unemployment rate remained at a high level.

As a result of this, the Federal government initiated the commission for "modern productivity on the labour market", under the leadership of Peter Harz.

Its task was the creation of a clearly defined concept to reform the German labour market. At the presentation of the final report of the Harz-Commission on the 16th of August 2002, Chancellor Schr=F6der declared that the Federal Government would immediately begin to implement the Commission's suggestions.

Creating Immigration

Another of Chancellor Schr=F6der's government's big reform projects was completed on the 22nd of March 2002: the Federal Council accepted the Federal government's immigration law.

"The question was never: 'Immigration: - yes or no?' But rather can we create a possibility to make immigration purposeful and also to limit it, or are we unable to generate this possibility?" Commenting on the decision the Chancellor said: "Discretion won the majority vote because we need this law, and not only do we need it but rather Germany needs it."

Overcoming the flood catastrophe

The summer of 2002 confronted Chancellor Schr?der's government with a great challenge in internal politics.

In mid August, following heavy downpours in the Erzgebirge in Eastern Germany River Elbe and its tributaries were in floods. Chancellor Schr=F6der after visiting the flooded area on August 14 spoke about the necessity for a national response to the flood of the century. On the very same day, the Federal Cabinet issued emergency measures for the victims of the catastrophe.

On the 19th of August the Federal Cabinet decided to postpone the second phase of tax reforms, to be able to provide the necessary means for re-construction. The German Confederation and the Federal States made available 9.8 billion Euros.

The Iraq crisis

The political developments in the Middle East created tension between the USA and Iraq. Before the UN, the USA presented the stance that if necessary, Iraq must be forced by military means to honour the UN-resolutions and to expose her weapons programmes.

During these weeks Chancellor Schr=F6der reinforced the obvious duty of an ally to give military support to the USA in the fight against international terrorism. Chancellor Schr?der, however, reiterated that this fight had not been won yet and warned against an attack on Iraq. Such an attack would not be viewed as defence and could destroy the international alliance against terror. The Middle East needed new peace not new war. The Federal government's policies were devoted to this goal. On the 28th of August Chancellor Schr=F6der declared that under his rule, Germany would not partake in a military intervention in Iraq.

Re-election to office of Chancellor Schr?der

After an election campaign, which was distinguished primarily by labour market policies and the first ever "TV-duel" of both flag bearers, the SPD and B=FCndnis'90/the Greens won the election to the 15th German Parliament. By the majority vote of the governing coalition, Chancellor Schr=F6der was elected for a second term as German Chancellor, on the 22nd of October 2002.

Schr=F6der is married to Doris Schr=F6der-Koepf and lives with her and daughter Klara.

German Ghanaian Commercial Partnership

Accra, Jan 21, GNA - Ghana and Germany have developed long lasting and intensive trade relations. In 2002 Ghana was one of Germany's main trading partners in the Sub-Saharan-Region.

Ghana's exports, consisting mainly of aluminium, cocoa, gold and timber amounted to 126.1 million Euros, while the German exports to Ghana, mainly machines, vehicles and chemical products, amounted to 145.8 million Euros, a statement sent to the GNA by the German Embassy in Accra on Wednesday said.

The substantive and strong German business presence in Ghana is represented by the Ghanaian German Economic Association (GGEA). More than 40 companies out of a total of about 80 registered German companies are members of the GGEA, headed by its President Dr. H.O.K. Ata. The aim of GGEA is to enhance and strengthen German-Ghanaian business relations. For this purpose strong ties have been established with the German Africa Association (Afrika-Verein) in Hamburg, an umbrella organisation for the German Africa-oriented business community. Encouraged by President John Agyekum Kufuor desire to engage more in fruitful bilateral business relations, the Africa Association organised a business trip to Ghana for a 20-member-delegation, followed by another delegation from the German Federal State of Saxony in early 2003. To develop and diversify Ghana's economic capacities is one of Germany=B4s main goals. In the framework of promoting the Private Sector, the German Government=B4s implementing agencies like the german technical Cooperation (GTZ) are assisting their Ghanaian partners in promoting activities of the private sector of the Ghanaian economy. Beside initiative and willingness from both countries, successful business relations need a legal environment to flourish. The existing Treaty between the two countries concerning the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments, which came into force on November 23, 1998, was a first step in the right direction.

Following successful negotiations in August 2003 an Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation would soon close the regulation gap, concerning taxation of companies and persons active in both countries. In mutually avoiding double taxation both countries would benefit by facilitating better conditions for free enterprises, free trade and a free market economy.

Ghana would be eighth country in Africa South of the Sahara to enter into such agreement with Germany.

Curriculum vitae of German Chancellor SCHRODER

Below is the curriculum vitae of Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, made available to the Ghana News Agency by the German Embassy in Accra.

Born April 7, 1944 in Mossenberg/Lippe Protestant, married

1951 - 1958 Elementary school

1959 - 1961 Apprenticeship in the retail trade

1962 - 1964 Evening classes, Intermediate Certificate

1963 Joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD

1964 - 1966 Course leading to General University Entrance Qualification

1966 - 1971 Read law at the University of G=F6ttingen, First state law examination

1972 - 1976 Legal training, second state law examination

Admitted to practise as a lawyer

1978 - 1980 Federal Chairman of the Young Socialists in the SPD

1978 - 1990 Own law firm in Hanover

1980 - 1986 Member of the German Bundestag

Since 1986 Member of the SPD National Executive

1986 - 1990 Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group in the Lower Saxony State Parliament

Since 1989 Member of the SPD Presidium

1990 - 1998 Minister-President of Lower Saxony

1994 - 1998 Chairman of the SPD in Lower Saxony

Since Oct. 27, 1998 Elected Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

April 12, 1999 Elected Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany

Dec. 7, 1999 Re-elected Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany

Nov. 19, 2001 Re-elected Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany