Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe in a handshake with President John Mahama
Ghana and Japan have pledged to deepen bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries.
The two countries have enjoyed fruitful working relationship over the years but the Japanese government has expressed its resolve to do more in the area of supporting Ghana’s agricultural development efforts and other sectors of interest.
President John Dramani Mahama and the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Shinzo Abe expressed their resolve to work closely together when they in Yokohama on Friday at a bilateral meeting ahead of the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) which opens on Saturday.
About 41 African heads of state including the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban-Kimoon and the World Bank President are expected to participate in the meeting.
The summit among other issues will focus on agriculture, peace and security in Africa.
President Mahama was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Hannah Tetteh, a Deputy Information Minister, Mr Felix Kwakye-Ofosu, the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembky, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, the Director of State Protocol, Ambassador Kwame Tenkorang and other dignitaries.
The Japanese Premier lauded Ghana for the economic strides it was making particularly in the areas of good governance and economic stability.
He recalled President Mahama’s stint with the Japanese Embassy in Accra as its Information Officer and described the president as a friend of Japan.
Responding, President Mahama commended Mr Abe for extending a hand of friendship to Africa and commended him for presiding over the conference which promised to be successful.
According to Mr Mahama, Ghana has been a regular participant of TICAD since its inception in 1993 and expressed the hope that the fifth conference would once again bring to the fore an opportunity for African leaders to deliberate on pertinent issues that would help move the continent forward.
President Mahama noted that he had imbibed some good Japanese character traits as a result of the six year stint he had with the Japanese Embassy and thus assured Mr Abe of Ghana’s continuous commitment to peace and development on the African continent.
The two leaders later held talks behind closed doors.
Source: Daily Graphic
