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His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana is on an official visit to Guyana which began on Saturday and will end on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The visit will serve to further intensify Guyana/Ghana Bilateral Relations, the release stated.
Dr Bawumia will lead an eighteen- member official delegation as well as members of Ghanaian Private Sector. Vice President Bawumia visit follows on the recent visit of Vice President Bharrat Jadgeo, to the Republic of Ghana, where wide ranging discussions were held in relation to several areas of mutual concern to Guyana and Ghana.
While in Guyana, Bawumia and delegation will engage in high-level-bilateral discussions at both the Government and Private sector levels, including engagements with President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Phillips (retired), Jagdeo, and other Ministers of Government. Vice President Bawumia will also meet with members of the Ghanaian Diaspora and pay a visit to the University of Guyana.
The two sides will also sign a framework bilateral cooperation agreement and further advance the conclusion of agreements in areas of mutual interest. Prior to departing Guyana, Vice President Bawumia is expected to co-host a Press Conference with his Guyanese counterpart, Jagdeo.
Ahead of the visit the Guyana Police Force advised the public of closure of several roads to facilitate the occasion.
The following roads will be closed to accommodate the activities on the date and time below: – Sunday, December 5, 2021, from 17:00hrs
•Middle & Main Street – No Entry North
• New Market & Carmichael Streets Eastern Carriageway – No Entry West and South
• New Market & Waterloo Street- No Entry West
• New Market & Urquhart Streets – No Entry East and North
• Lamaha & Main Streets – No Entry South
• Middle & Carmichael Streets – No Entry North and West
Monday December 6, 2021 from 06:00hrs
• Conversation Tree & Railway Embankment – No Entry East
• Bel Air Road & Railway Embankment – No Entry East
• Pump Road & Railway Embankment – No Entry East
• UG Road & Railway Embankment- No Entry West
• Giftland Access Road & Railway Embankment – No Entry West
Back in 2019 the President, David Granger hosted the Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. During that two-day State visit to Guyana, he was conferred with the Order of Excellence, Guyana’s highest national award, by President Granger during a luncheon held in his honour.
During a bilateral meeting shortly before the luncheon on Tuesday, Guyana and Ghana agreed, by way of a Memorandum of Understanding, to increase cooperation, collaboration and trade. The agreement also signaled the end of the visa requirement to travel between the two countries.
With Ghana experiencing high levels of deforestation, the country had signalled an interest in importing Guyana’s timber. It also has a major interest in Guyana’s Rum industry. To learn more, President Akufo-Addo and his delegation visited Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) and Banks DIH and participated in a photo exhibition held at the Umana Yana. His first visit, however, was to the Non-Aligned Monument and the 1763 Monument where he laid floral wreaths.
He had wrapped up his State visit to Guyana with a commitment to creating a direct link between Accra and Georgetown. The Ghanaian President made this commitment during a meeting with the Ghanaian Diaspora and African organisations at the Guyana Marriott Hotel. “There are other areas of cooperation that we want to undertake– in education and transportation, a direct link between Accra and Georgetown,” President Akufo-Addo said.
The Republic of Ghana, which is located on the western coast of Africa, almost directly across the Atlantic Ocean from Guyana, gained its Independence on March 6, 1957, after obtaining freedom from the United Kingdom. Ghana became a Republic on July 1, 1960.
Similar to Guyana, Ghana possesses a number of natural resources such as petroleum, gold, silver, timber and bauxite, as well as tropical forests and savannahs. In the political arena, the Government of Ghana acknowledges the looming threat of climate change and is party to international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol as well as other treatises on biodiversity, desertification and the protection of endangered species.
Ghanaians make up a poly-ethnic, multi-religious society. As of 2016, the west-African nation boasted a staggering population of over 28 million people, most of whom reside in and around the country’s capital, Accra, located on the western coast, making it the 49th most populated country in the world.
Although Guyana officially established diplomatic relations with Ghana on May 14, 1979, Guyana’s Independence movement was greatly influenced by Pan-Africanist and first President of Ghana, Mr. Kwame Nkrumah. During the celebration of Ghana’s Independence in March 1957, Guyana’s political leaders, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Mr. Forbes Burnham travelled to Ghana to attend the festivities. Throughout their years of leadership, both Presidents Jagan and Burnham maintained good relations with Ghana.
Guyana has long shared common interests with those of the Republic of Ghana. In 1970, Guyana joined Ghana and several other developing nations as a Member State of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). NAM was officially established in 1961 by President Nkrumah, and the presidents of Yugoslavia, India, Indonesia, and Egypt to govern relations between developing and developed nations.
