President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will on Monday, March 25, visit the beautiful Central Mediterranean Sea Island of Malta, at the invitation of his counterpart towards deepening relations to prosper their citizens.
The historic visit follows one to Accra by the Maltese Leader, Marie Louise Coleira Preca, last July, at which both presidents affirmed their resolve to strengthen the already good relations between the two countries.
President Akufo-Addo’s visit will give impetus to the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation agreed between both nations in 2013, and shore up the prospects for enhanced cooperation with Malta, which has one of the fastest growing financial, maritime, aviation and manufacturing sectors.
Whilst on the visit, the President will hold talks with his Maltese counterpart at the Magisterial Palace in Valletta. He is also billed to meet the country’s Prime Minister, Dr Joseph Muscat, opposition leader Adrian Delia, and the Speaker of Parliament, Anglu Farrugia.
President Akufo-Addo will witness, also, the signing of some six agreements on Medicines, Bilateral Air Services, Avoidance of Double Taxation, Fisheries Cooperation, Tourism and the waiver of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and service passports, as well as address a business forum of Maltese and Ghanaian entrepreneurs.
Both countries, members of the Commonwealth Group of Nations (CHOGM), have firmed ties at both the bilateral and multilateral levels since the relocation of Ghana’s Mission in Tripoli, Libya, to Malta in 2014, following the political crisis in the North African state.
Malta, a former British colony, with a population of 460,000 and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in excess of 19 billion dollars with an estimated per Capita GDP of 41,900 dollars, has also established in Accra a diplomatic mission, its first in sub-Saharan Africa.
The country’s first High Commissioner to Ghana, Jean Claude Galea Mallia, presented his credentials to President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House last Tuesday.
Malta has one of the best logistics port administration in the world, with connection to 165 ports on all continents.
Many Maltese companies are already operating in Ghana, particularly in the textile and garments and services sector, with exports from those business concerns, especially ready-made apparels and clothing, ending up at high-end retail outlets in Europe.
President Akufo-Addo is expected to return to Ghana on Tuesday, March 26, 2019.
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