The Sixth Session of Ghana-Switzerland Political Consultations has been held yesterday, November 3, 2021.
The meeting convened with participants from the Foreign Ministries of the two countries and other relevant national stakeholders of Ghanaian, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies and representatives of concerned institutions in Switzerland.
The meeting was led on the Ghana side by Ghana’s Ambassador to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Ramses Cleland, with the Swiss side led by Head of Africa and the Francophone Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Siri Walt.
Issues discussed at the meeting were Ghana and Switzerland Cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Bilateral Economic Relations, and Economic Development Cooperation.
Other areas of interest discussed were Cooperation in the field of Digitization, cocoa sector, Human Rights, business and human rights, voluntary principles on security and human rights, LGBTQI+ rights, and cooperation in peace, security, and capacity building.
The discussions also touched on issues of stability, and security in the sub-region, issues relating to ECOWAS, AU, and AfCTA, the candidature of both countries for international organizations, cooperation within the UN, and Covid:19 pandemic.
After the meeting, the two countries expressed satisfaction with their increasing level of cooperation and jointly affirmed the linkage in the different areas of Ghana-Switzerland relations to boost the cooperation for the mutual benefit of both countries.
Established 60 years ago, diplomatic relations between Ghana and Switzerland had over the years been very friendly and cordial and found expression in many joint programmes and projects of mutual benefit to the two countries.
The two countries maintain good relations and can look back on a long-standing exchange which has been fruitful for both countries. The focal points of these relations are the flourishing trade and economic cooperation.
Switzerland recognized the Republic of Ghana on 6 March 1957, the day independence was declared. In the same yea,r the two countries established diplomatic relations.
However, a Swiss presence in Ghana goes back much further: as early as 1828 Swiss missionaries from the Basel Mission settled in what was known then as the Gold Coast. The work of the Basel Mission lives on today in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and its schools and hospitals.
The missionaries were also responsible for bringing the cocoa plant to Ghana, and today 47% of the cocoa used to manufacture chocolate comes from Ghana.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana