Ghana will achieve debt sustainability: Chinese envoy
China said it remains Ghana’s largest trading partner and source of investment, and will therefore come together to deliver tangible benefits to the people of Ghana.
“We will work closely with our Ghanaian counterpart under the common framework of the G20 in the upcoming consultation to help Ghana achieve debt sustainability,” reiterated the Director of Political Affairs at the Chinese Embassy in China. Ghana, Catherine Danzhu Lou, during the presentation of some points to the Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) last Friday.
GCGL Managing Director Ato Afful, supported by Graphics Editor Theophilus Yartey; the editor, Samuel Doe Ablordeppey; foreign news editor Mary Mensah and photo editor Douglas Anane Frimpong received the items, which included cameras, lenses, computers and a laptop.
The Chinese embassy said support for the largest circulating newspaper would be annual.
Treatment of bilateral debt
Ghana owes China, its largest trading partner, about $1.9 billion in bilateral debt, and China’s presence at the Paris Club table to decide on the treatment of Ghana’s debt has been crucial in securing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
This was made possible after the creation of the Paris Club’s Committee of Official Creditors, which China agreed to co-chair.
In the run-up to this, many countries and analysts have expressed the position that China, as a matter of principle and policy, does not want to offer debt treatment to any of its support recipient countries.
This generated some pressure at the country level, the donor community and the IMF for China to support its partner countries which were struggling to repay their debt to it.
The difficulty in servicing the debt was caused mainly due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine.
Trade relations
Recounting the trade relations between the two countries, Ms. Lou said last year that bilateral trade volume hit an all-time high of $10.2 billion, up 7.3 percent from a year earlier. former.
She said Ghana’s exports to China, which included cocoa, precious minerals and non-traditional commodities, had also increased by 60%.
On the other hand, Chinese companies have continued to invest in many areas of the Ghanaian economy such as air transport, power generation, steel and ceramics, which have made a significant contribution to the productivity of Ghana, Ms. Lou said.
The director of political affairs at the Chinese embassy also referred to the establishment of the China-Ghana Agriculture Luban workshop, designed to increase cassava production through mechanization.
“We will continue to support vocational and technical education in Ghana to equip Ghanaian youth with advanced technologies,” Ms. Lou said.
Civilization Initiative
The Director of Political Affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Ghana again referred to the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which calls for the advancement of inter-civilization exchanges, mutual learning and the promotion of human civilization.
She said that the value of different civilizations could be realized and their beauty only shines when shared.
“Today, the world is changing like never before. The historic trends of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit are unstoppable,” Ms. Lou said.
However, the hegemonic, authoritarian and intimidating acts of using force to intimidate the weak, taking others by force and subterfuge and playing zero-sum games were causing severe damage and posing unprecedented challenges to the human society, said the director of political affairs of the Chinese Embassy said.
It is in this spirit that the GCI urged “all countries to promote the new concept of win-win for all and mutual learning exchanges between different civilizations”.
Ms. Lou added that by working together, the world could build a community with a shared future for humanity.
Drawing on the long-standing relationship between Ghana and China dating back to pre-independence, she expressed the belief that the GCGL would do its part to cement the centuries-old friendship between “our two countries and peoples”.
Chronicle of history
For his part, Afful thanked the Chinese Embassy for its continued relationship with GCGL, the media house that had chronicled the country’s history before its independence in 1957 to date.
The MD said the company, with the support of a technology solutions company, TechGulf, was digitizing its archives from its inception until the year 2000 to facilitate thematic electronic research.
“The beauty of the Graphic Group is that it emerged long before Ghana gained independence. And so we have told about the relationships that Ghana or the Gold Coast previously had with international friends and partners such as China, over the past 73 years.
“It will be instructive if one day when you return, we take you to see Graphic’s archives for the last 73 years, that is, 1950.
“We will research and present to you a content of the relationship that has existed between our country and China,” Afful said.
Hit
Afful said China was an example that when people decide to look within and commit to doing things right, they succeed.
“China has taught the world an important thing: when people look within and commit to doing what they set out to do, so much can be achieved,” he said. declared.
He added that through the collaboration, the Daily Graphic could share information from all 16 regions of the country with China, while shedding more light on China to deepen knowledge about this country in Ghana.
“I believe that through this collaboration, the people of Ghana would also learn what China has been able to do in the last 50 years or so, which is quite phenomenal in terms of development, and we would also be a more developed country in the future,” said the managing director.
Cooperation
The two sides also discussed how to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between GCGL and Chinese media.
The Chinese Embassy’s Media Relations Officer, Kwame Ren, praised the Daily Graphic for publishing generous stories about a Chinese prime minister’s first visit to Ghana 60 years ago, and also for reporting sent two journalists to cover former President Kwame Nkrumah’s visit to China. two years later.
He said the Chinese Embassy will continue to strengthen its relationship with GCGL while facilitating exchange and knowledge-sharing programs with Chinese media.
Source: OccupyGh.com
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