The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and MP for Tatale-Sanguli of the Republic of Ghana, Thomas Mbomba is in Prague, Czech Republic with a delegation for an official working visit from 6th to 9th September, 2022.
In Prague, the Deputy Minister has held discussions with his Czech counterpart, Hon. Martin Tlapa, on bilateral and multilateral issues of interest to Ghana, as the Czech Republic has taken up the Presidency of the European Union Council.
At the bilateral level, Hon. Mbomba noted that there is strong bonds of friendship and partnership that has existed between the two countries dating back to the late 60’s. He further noted that our relations have further been strengthened with the exchange of high-level visits from both sides.
At the Multilateral level, the Hon. Deputy Minister noted with satisfaction, the long-standing tradition of cooperation between the two countries in various international fora, including support for each other’s candidatures for positions at various multilateral institutions and expressed the desire to continue such cooperation.
A four-day training programme on Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) was organised for selected staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration from Tuesday, 30th August to Friday, 2nd September, 2022 at the Ministry’s Conference Room. #GhanaMFA pic.twitter.com/2uTjcatk8h
— Ghana MFA (@GhanaMFA) September 5, 2022
According to the Hon. Deputy Minister, Ghana’s priorities as a non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council includes working with other UN member states to ensure that the UN Security Council decisively responds to the new threats to Global Peace and Security, including a balanced focus on the root causes of conflict, more effective peacekeeping mandates and burden sharing between the UN and Regional Organisations such as ECOWAS, though sustainable funding by the UN for the fight against terrorism, piracy, illicit arms, drugs, human trafficking, violent extremism and addressing climate insecurity.
The Hon. Deputy Minister added that Ghana will continue to use its tenure at the Security Council to advocate for Global Peace and Security for sustainable and inclusive development and urged Czech Republic to support Ghana in that regard. Hon. Mbomba informed his counterpart that the assumption of the Presidency of the European Union (EU) Council by the Czech Republic provides more opportunities for both countries to work closely together on issues of common interest and stressed that the EU is an invaluable partner for international peace and security, as well as the achievement of the SDGs in Africa.
The Hon. Deputy Minister, therefore, called on Ghana and the Czech Republic to continue with more collaboration on the multilateral front to respond decisively to the new threats to Global Peace and Security including terrorism, piracy, illicit arms, drugs and human trafficking.
On the situation in the Sahel Region and Gulf of Guinea, the Hon. Deputy Minister stressed that Ghana has always been actively involved in ECOWAS and AU deliberations, including efforts at resolving regional conflicts on the continent, and that the government does not only have strong interest in the afore-mentioned issues, but is also committed to working with its partners, including Czech Republic.
He went on to explain that, the complexity of the problem demands cooperation and capacity building to enable our countries address the menace. Ghana is seriously committed to the fight and is calling on the Czech Republic to support efforts aimed at strengthening our capacity to contribute to the improvement of the security situation in the Region, particularly by implementing preventive counter-terrorism strategies, he noted.
He said the Political Climate remains fragile in these regions and has been characterized by religious and communal tensions, general climate of insecurity and recent coup d’états.
The Deputy Minister added that, the growing instability in the Sahel is also a growing threat to Coastal Regions and Ghana and ECOWAS count on the support of Czech Republic towards resolving the issues. He recalled to his Czech counterpart the Accra Initiative and the ECOWAS Security plan and the efforts under Ghana’s leadership to put in place an ECOWAS force to take the fight to the terrorists.
He further indicated that ECOWAS and Ghana, during Ghana’s tenure as ECOWAS chair, were committed to funding the operations out of their own resources but face challenges due to the budget crunch most ECOWAS States are facing. He therefore called for the need for burden sharing with partners in Europe and North America especially, including in the areas of intelligence, logistics, capabilities, training and deployment.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana
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