The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says Ghana will exploit its long-standing relationship with Italy to deal with the growing scourge of insecurity in the sub-region.
He said there was the need to foster collaboration in dealing with the economic, security and political challenges in the sub-region and Italy remained a critical partner in this direction.
“Issues concerning piracy, terrorism, violent extremism, illicit drug and human trafficking, which have become more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa, called for collective efforts in addressing, and Italy remained an important partner in that direction,” he asserted.
President Akufo-Addo, who was speaking at a joint news conference with the visiting Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, at the Jubilee House on Friday, said the complexities of the challenges and the insecurity borne out of the development could not be overemphasised, however, it required maximum attention.
He further said Ghana valued its long-standing bilateral ties with Italy and was committed to boosting this partnership further to explore new areas of mutual interests for sustainable development and growth.
President Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his call on global leaders to work assiduously to bring about reforms in the United Nations Security Council.
“The Council ought to be made more representative by factoring in the interest of developing countries in the era of multilateralism,” he emphasised.
On climate change, he stated that Ghana remained resilient in its advocacy to reduce greenhouse emissions to the barest minimum.
On his part, President Mattarella said Europe and Africa shared a common vision – that is, to advance the cause of humanity.
“It is against this background that the two continents should work together to overcome their respective development challenges, promote multilateralism and the bond of friendship,” he said.
President Mattarella noted that the EU was determined to cooperate with the West African Regional bloc, ECOWAS, to curb piracy, illicit drug and human trafficking, irregular migration and terrorism.
He expressed worry at the degeneration of democratic principles in sub-Saharan Africa, saying the development did not encourage good governance.
While commending Ghana for championing the cause of democratic governance and the rule of law amid the growing incidence of coups in the sub-Region, he stressed the need for the ECOWAS leaders to increase talks in re-establishing full regional cooperation.
President Mattarella is the second Italian President to visit Ghana within the last three decades, with relations between the two countries dating back to 1957.
Prior to his arrival in Ghana on Friday, he also visited the Ivory Coast, where he engaged the authorities on varied issues, especially on democracy and stability in Africa.
The continent represents one of the priorities of Italian foreign policy, consequently, paying particular attention to emerging issues such as the recent spike in piracy, terrorist attacks and violent extremism.
As part of his visit, President Mattarella was expected to visit the refurbished Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Christiansborg Castle.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
