Mills secures South American Support for Ghana's development

>From Benjamin Mensah, GNA Special Correspondent, Washington DC

Washington DC, Sept 29, GNA - President John Atta Mills has secured South American support for Ghana's agricultural, health and energy sectors and initiated steps for Argentina to support Ghanaians in their study of Spanish.

This followed President Mills' participation in the second Africa-South America Summit at the week-end at Porlarmar on the Island of Margariat, Venezuela.

During bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said he appreciated the efforts of the government of Ghana to improve the lives of Ghanaians and noted that agriculture played a key role in the economies of developing countries.

Alhaji Mohamed Mumuni, the Minister of Foreign Affairs who briefed journalists in Washington DC, said Argentina pledged to support Ghana's livestock sector with technical assistance. The assistance is to re-energize the sector, create jobs, make Ghana self-sufficient in food and livestock production as well as to create an export market.

He said President Mills expressed concern about the collapse of the livestock industry in Ghana that has necessitated his call for assistance to revive the sector. The two leaders agreed for a follow up to the pledge for which a high powered government delegation would soon be in Argentina to follow up and finalise the deal.

At the same Summit Brazil pledged technical support for Ghana's energy sector while Venezuela pledged $20 million for the control of malaria in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire as well as to partner other countries to develop their energy sectors.

On the summit the leaders agreed to establish an intercontinental bank along the line of the World Bank with a proposed initial capital of $20 billion.

The proposed bank will address the financial needs of members who would not be able to meet the conditions of the Breton Woods institutions.

Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela agreed to make an initial contribution of $4 billion each.

A declaration adopted at the end of the summit acknowledged the active participation of African descendants in the development of South America and their contributions to South American countries' independence.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to promote South- South co-operation as a major objective of both regions in order to complement the traditional North-South co-operation sustained economic growth.