President to pay state visit to Saudi Arabia

Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and her Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Sunday announced that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be paying a State visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from February 7- 8.

This came to light when the two ministers met in Riyadh to discuss bilateral relationship between the two nations.

Madam Botchwey, who is the first Ghanaian Foreign Minister to officially visit the Kingdom, said the purpose of the President’s visit was to deepen relationships between the countries.

She recalled that Ghana and Saudi Arabia had enjoyed cordial bilateral relations which date back to the 1960s and indicated that since then, the bonds of friendship between the two countries have witnessed steady growth.

“Saudi Arabia is Ghana’s oldest bilateral partner in the Gulf Region and that, our relations with Riyadh paved the way for the expansion of our bilateral relations to the rest of the countries in the region,” she stated.

“Saudi Arabia, therefore, continues to remain a priority partner for Ghana in the region.”

Madam Botchwey noted that Ghana as a peaceful and stable country offers a gateway to the entire West African market and beyond for the investment interests of Saudi Arabian industries.

She therefore, welcomed opportunities to form mutually beneficial strategic alliances in that regard.

She urged her Saudi counterpart to use his good offices to encourage Saudi investors to take advantage of the attractive incentives, within the context of the Ghanaian Government’s agenda to industrialise the economy, to invest in Ghana.

On his part, Prince Faisal, who lauded the cordial relationship between the two countries; said the Kingdom was ready to welcome President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the State visit.

Prince Faisal said outstanding agreements between the two countries should be finalised in order to strengthen the bilateral relations between them.