The European Union (EU) delegation to Ghana has launched the Europe Month, stressing the importance of youth and skills development in sustainable development.
The EU Ambassador, Irchad Razaaly, who launched the event at his residence in Accra last Wedneday, said the focus of EU’s partnership with Ghana was on youth and skills development because that was the best way to ensure a secure future.
Again, he said an empowered youth represented the hope of the country and the world at large. Ambassador Razaaly announced that as part of the commitment to harnessing the skills and talents of the youth, there would be a boxing exhibition between him and Ghana’s boxing icon, Azumah Nelson, at the Bukom Boxing Arena on May 4, this year.
He noted that the event, which would be on the theme “Diplo Rumble”, was aimed to showcase the boxing talent of young athletes in Bukom and promote youth empowerment through sports.
Partnership dialogue
He added that there would be the annual partnership dialogue between the union and the government on May 6 to assess the partnership between the parties and the way forward.
He said the dialogue would be chaired by the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. The event would bring together all ambassadors of EU member states accredited to Ghana, and would have in participation officials from government institutions, including the ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
“The dialogue helps to assess the progress made on topics such as trade, security and sustainable development, with the goal to deepen Ghana-EU relations even further in the coming years,” he said.
Europe Day
Mr Razaaly added that one of the highlights of the Europe Month celebration would be the Europe Day reception to be held at his residence on May 9. Apart from being a high-profile diplomatic gathering, the event would have in attendance ministers and senior government officials, traditional rulers, development partners, chief executives of private sector entities as well as civil society organisations.
It would also be a night that would showcase the strength of EU-Ghana relations in an evening filled with entertainment and musical performances.
Education partnership
Ambassador Razaaly said the climax of the Europe Month would be on May 24 with a networking reception to celebrate the Europe-Ghana partnership in education and skills. He said the EU-Ghana Pact for Skills Programme was a landmark agreement that signified a commitment to invest in the future of the Ghanaian youth through education.
As part of that event, he said a scholarship fair would display a variety of scholarship programmes offered in European universities that young Ghanaians could take advantage of to acquire knowledge and position themselves to contribute meaningfully to national development.
Achievements
Touching on the success story of the EU-Ghana partnership which dates back to the past 65 years, he said the EU had invested in key sectors of Ghana’s economy, ranging from energy, transport, healthcare, to education. For instance, he cited the construction of the Akosombo Dam as one of the major contributions of the union to the country’s energy sector.
He also said the investment in many road projects, support to agribusiness and trade partnerships had helped to grow the country’s economy. Ambassador Razaaly also said the EU had supported Ghana to become a vaccine producing country aside from the deepening of cooperation in the areas of maritime security.
Source: graphic.com.gh
