Ghana hosts second session talks with France

Ghana, Thursday hosted the second session of the Ghana-France Political Dialogue to build on the progress made at the first session held in Paris in October last year.

The political dialogue falls within the framework of the bilateral relationship between the two countries, following President Mahama’s visit to France in May in 2013 and Mrs Hannah Tetteh’s meeting with her French counterpart, Mr. Laurent Fabius, on October 10 in Paris.

The discussions focused on the major regional and African issues, notably the situation in Mali, the Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria; and also global issues related to peacekeeping and the fight against Climate Change.

Mr Leslie Kojo Christian, Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, said the two countries had enjoyed excellent relations as well as cooperation on a wide range of significant issues.

These include military cooperation within the context of the UN Peace Mission in Mali, signing of MOU in the education sector and development cooperation with Agence Francaise de Development.

He, however said those far reaching agreements should not lead to complacency and stated that the two sides had to explore ways of rising to embrace new challenges that they faced in the area of terrorism, security concerns in the Gulf of Guinea, economic, environmental and the other development issues.

The Secretary General of France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Remy Rioux said Ghana had a strong presence in the region and was very attractive to investors.

He said France was interested in investing in Ghana and promoting the French Language for strong bilateral cooperation.

This meeting is expected to provide an opportunity to review the prospects for strengthening the bilateral relations, particularly, in the economic field and in terms of supporting Ghana’s development.