President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo left the country yesterday on a 10-day working visit to France, Guyana, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.
His first point of call will be Brest, France, where at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron, he will participate in the One Ocean Summit today.
Up to 40 world leaders are due to make “ambitious and concrete commitments” towards combating illegal fishing, decarbonising shipping and reducing plastic pollution at what is billed as the first high-level summit dedicated to the ocean.
Thereafter, the President will, at the invitation of Dr Mohamed Irfan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, travel to Georgetown, Guyana, to participate as a keynote speaker at the maiden International Energy Conference and Expo by Guyana to be held from February 15 to 18, 2022. Ghana and Guyana are developing close working relations in the oil and gas sector.
Following the visit to Guyana, he will travel to Marburg, Germany, at the invitation of KENUP Foundation to participate, together with Presidents Macky Sall and Paul Kagame, Senegal and Rwanda respectively, in the presentation of the BioNtech modular production facility for MRNA vaccines on Wednesday, February 16, 2022.
It is towards a Pan-African Project for the establishment of a vaccine manufacturing plant in Africa.
President Akufo-Addo will then travel to the French capital, Paris, to meet with President Macron, together with other African Heads of State.
Their meeting will hinge on the security situation in the Sahel and Africa in general.
In the evening of February 16, President Akufo-Addo will also participate in a meeting with President Macron and some Heads of State from the ECOWAS Region to discuss the security situation in ECOWAS.
The President would then continue to Brussels, Belgium, to participate in the Africa Union-European Union (AU-EU) two-day summit and then travel to the United Kingdom for a private visit.
The President was accompanied by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey; National Security, Albert Kan Dapaah; Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Kwaku Afriyie; and other officials of the Presidency and Foreign Ministry.
President Akufo-Addo will return to Ghana on Sunday, February 20.
In accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, shall act in his stead.
BY TIMES REPORTER