Singapore President, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, has given President John Dramani Mahama thumbs up for the work his government has done in returning the Ghanaian economy to growth.
Receiving President Mahama at the Istana – the Presidential Villa – on his three-day State Visit to Singapore yesterday, President Shanmugaratnam expressed confidence that the Ghanaian economy would see further growth under the steady leadership of John Mahama.
“I know you inherited a very difficult economy but you are off to a strong start repairing the situation and reinforcing confidence in the economy,” he noted.
Mr Shanmugaratnam said the Asian country has always viewed Ghana as an African giant with the potential to even be greater, expressing the readiness of Singapore to deepen ties with Ghana on all fronts.
“We have always viewed Ghana as a key player not only in West Africa but Africa as a whole,” he said.
“We in Singapore, in whatever way we can, through our government agencies and companies, will do what is useful to support you in your efforts.”
On his part, President Mahama expressed appreciation to the government of Singapore for the invitation, describing it as important for cooperation between the two countries.
He said Ghana sees Singapore as a model for its development, having shared historical ties over the decades.
“Our values are shared. We’ve had historical ties from the period of our first President, and we view Singapore as a role model in our journey to create prosperity for our people,” President Mahama stated.
Mr Mahama stressed that having returned the economy to steady growth, his administration would ensure prudent election year spending to avoid the slippages that have characterised election years over the decades.
“I will not be a candidate in the next elections and therefore I can hold the line when it comes to fiscal discipline,” he assured as part of measures to leave a stable economy for investments.
The Singapore National Orchid Garden has, meanwhile, honoured President Mahama with a newly named Orchid hybrid “Vanda John Dramani Mahama”.
The new Orchid now joins the Garden’s renowned VIP Orchids collection, a tradition that pays tribute to visiting Heads of State and governments.
President Mahama signed the visitors’ book and received a briefing on the history of the garden as part of his tour of the facility.
As part of his itinerary for the visit, he also visited the Singapore Institute of Technology, to understand local experiences in higher education.
President Mahama also made a second site visit to the Biopolis, Singapore’s premier research hub for biomedical sciences, which hosts leading public and private biomedical research institutes and organisations, and anchors the development of the entire research and development value chain of life sciences.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
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