EU Vice President to pay 2-day visit to Ghana
The European Union (EU) Commission Vice President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Mr Jyrki Katainen, will be in Ghana on Thursday for a two-day official visit to strengthen economic ties.
A statement issued by Mrs Rejoice Esi Asante, Press, Communication and Information Officer, Delegation of the EU to Ghana, yesterday said it was part of a two nation visit to Ghana and Togo.
It said Mr Katainen would participate in the first Ghana-EU Business Forum, on June 14in Accra and deliver the closing remarks alongside Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Aside that, he would hold separate meetings with the country’s Economic Management team and civil society and the private sector before he delivers a lecture on the EU-Africa Alliance at the Kofi Annan ICT Training Centre.
Additionally, he would grant interviews to the media and visit Tema Port’s new terminal, which is providing strategic enhanced capacity for international and regional trade, according to the statement.
In Togo, it said Mr Katainen would deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the first Togo-EU Economic Forum on June 13 2019 with the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé.
According to the statement, the visit to the two countries underscored Europe’s strong commitment and partnership in the region, in the context of the Africa-Europe Alliance for sustainable investment and jobs.
The Africa-Europe Alliance, it said, represented a coherent economic strategy of engagement aimed at job creation with the support of sustainable private sector investment, covering de-risking, investment climate, trade/economic integration, including the Economic Partnership Agreements, and education/vocational training.
“In view of both countries’ commitments to economic and social transformation and reform undertaken to date , as part of the G20 Compact with Africa launched in 2017, it is clear that both countries offer strong potential for Alliance implementation and its flagship, the EU’s External Investment Plan,” it said.
Mr Katainen has served in diverse capacities in his country including Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Finland, 2007-2011 and Prime Minister of Finland, 2011-2014. He has held his current position since 2014.
BY TIMES REPORTER
