The president of Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib, has arrived in Ghana to hold bilateral talks and launch an initiative aimed at building and empowering the African youth with skills and opportunities to reach their potential.

Speaking to the media at the Kotoka International Airport shortly after her arrival, Ms Gurib said: “The primary purpose of my visit is that we will be launching, along with President Nana Akufo-Addo, a very important initiative this afternoon, and this initiative will be across the continent, because we are going to start again to build the human capital, the youth of the continent, and empower them with the skills and opportunities that this continent needs,” she stated.

According to her, the initiative is important because “Africa as we know is one of the continents which is getting younger, and I firmly believe the future of this continent rests with the human capital and the talent of our young people”.

Ms Gurib further noted her visit was also to deepen bilateral relations between Ghana and Mauritius. “The other reason for my coming, of course, is that my country is keen on establishing stronger bilateral relations with Ghana,” she added.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who received Ms Gurib at the airport, said: “The issue of cooperation between Mauritius and Ghana is to have a mutual benefit in terms of the expansion of our economies, to the creation of jobs… We believe that we Africans can really do a lot for ourselves if we build the human capital, if we open up our economies, and if we make the business environment very friendly. …I think very few countries come close to Mauritius in Africa as far as their business environment is concerned and we have a lot to learn from each other. The financial sector, for example, is a major area where Mauritius has done a lot and where Ghana can also learn from. So I look forward to closer ties, deeper relations – more of an exchange of ideas and cooperation in many different sectors between Mauritius and Ghana.”