The German Ambassador to Ghana, Rudiger John has pledged his country’s continuous technical support to Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) in order to organise free and fair general elections next year.
The ambassador extolled Ghana’s excellent democratic credentials which has witnessed numerous elections since 1992.
Ambassador John said there would not be any meaningful development in any country that does not practice true democracy, adding that, it was for this reason that Germany has always partnered Ghana to the entrench its pledging democracy.
He made the remarks at a soiree in Accra recently, when his country marked the 25th anniversary of the reunification of the Federal Republic of Germany.
On bilateral co-operation, the Ambassador disclosed that Germany has earmarked 90 million Euros, over the next three years, to Ghana as support for development projects in the areas of good governance, agriculture and sustainable economic development.
He said Germany was supporting Ghana through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development’s (MLGRD) street naming and house numbering exercises as well as in sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and waste management through its decentralisation programme.
The German Ambassador said in the first half of this year, trade between the two countries amounted to between 130 and 140 million Euros.
Ambassador John said the official visit to Germany, on two occasions, by President John Dramani Mahama, has boosted business confidence and that German investors have started relocating some of their companies to do business here.
He said German business delegations have already visited Ghana to explore investment opportunities.
On education, the German diplomat disclosed that in December this year, a German institution, Alexander Humboldt Foundation, would be in the country to hold talks with a number of Ghanaian universities on how to establish relationships that would promote knowhow among the two countries.
Earlier, the German Ambassador opened an exhibition at the Goethe Institute, in Accra, themed: “The path to German unification”, aimed at showcasing activities of more than 10 German institutions in Ghana.
Ghanaian returnees who lived in Germany during the reunification participated in a panel discussion to share their experiences.
Dr. Kwabena Donkor, Minister of Power, who graced the occasion, described Berlin Wall, which divided Germany into East and West (two separate countries) as the most militarised zone in the history of the world.
He said its tumbling on October 3, 1990, thus brought together the two Germanys as a single country known today as the Federal Republic of Germany which was, therefore, laudable.
Dr Donkor said Ghana had enjoyed cordial relations with Germany since the establishment of diplomatic ties over five decades ago, adding that this partnership had recently manifested further with the visit of President Mahama to Germany at the invitation of Chancellors Angela Merkel.
<<Print>>