Accra, April 17, - President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Tuesday said discussion on migrations and refugees
cannot be complete without including conversations about the nature of African
economies.
He said such comprehensive
discussions are one of the ways to guide the formulations of appropriate
policies that would enable satisfactory solutions to the crises of refugees and
migration, especially from the African continent.
President Akufo-Addo made this
known on when he met with the leader of the United Kingdom’s (UK) Labour Party
and leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, on the sidelines of the 25th
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), currently ongoing in the
United Kingdom.
He noted that the structure of
most of the economies on Africa, including Ghana, has been dependent, largely,
on the production and export of raw materials.
These economies, the President
noted, cannot create opportunities, wealth and prosperity for the African
peoples, a situation which has fuelled the waves of migration of African youths
from the Continent, who move to Europe in search of jobs.
He told Mr Corbyn that Ghana had
decided to turn its back on the old economy, and focus her energies on building
an industrialised, value-added economy, with a modernised agriculture, which
takes full advantage of the digital revolution.
President Akufo-Addo noted that
Ghana and the United Kingdom continue to maintain strong bonds of friendship
and co-operation, adding that the UK remains one of Ghana's most significant
trading partners, and a major source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Again, as members of the
Commonwealth, he noted that Ghana and the United Kingdom continued to share
common values of democratic accountability, good governance, respect for
individual liberties and human rights, and the rule of law.
President Akufo-Addo and Jeremy
Corbyn also discussed issues bordering on the deepening of democracy amongst
member states of the Commonwealth, the worsening humanitarian crises in the
Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria, United Nations Reforms, in particular
reform of the UN Security Council, BREXIT, an increase in trade co-operation
between Ghana and the UK, and migration.
He invited the Labour Party
leader, whose parliamentary constituency of Islington North has a high
concentration of Ghanaians, to visit Ghana later in the year, an invitation
which was warmly accepted by Jeremy Corbyn.
The President left Ghana on
Saturday, April 14, 2018, to attend the 25th CHOGM on the theme “Towards a
Common Future”. The event will end on Friday, April 20, 2018.
Heads of Government in the
Commonwealth are expected to address shared global challenges, and agree on
actions to create a better future for all.
On the side-lines of the Summit,
President Akufo-Addo would also hold meetings with British Foreign Secretary,
Boris Johnson; Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan; and the Duke of Cambridge, Prince
William.
The President would also deliver
the keynote address at the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce Investment Summit;
speak at the Malaria Summit, hosted by Bill Gates; attend the Commonwealth
Enterprise and Investment Council Business Forum; and, on Saturday, April 21,
2018, deliver the keynote speech at the London School of Economics Africa
Summit, on the theme “Africa at Work: Educated, Employed and Empowered”.
He would return to Ghana on
Sunday, April 22, 2018.
GNA
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