On Thursday, 21 October 2021, the State of Israel and the Republic of Ghana held their second round of political consultations to enhance the already existing good relations between the two countries.
The Political Director of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H. E. Alon Bar lead the Israeli team for the dialogue while the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Kwaku Ampratum Sarpong led the Ghanaian team.
Opening the dialogue, Ambassador Bar acknowledged the good relations between Israel and Ghana, expressing that “this dialogue is yet another opportunity for us to strengthen our close bilateral relations, discussing issues that are very important to us and can improve the lives of our citizens.”
He indicated that, the State of Israel is ready to move ahead with some pending issues and agreements from the previous consultations.
On his part, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Kwaku Ampratum Sarpong emphasized the close relations between the two states and expressed gratitude to the State of Israel for its contributions to Ghana’s agriculture and health sectors.
The meeting which was held via zoom discussed key issues that mattered to both states in the area of multilateral affair, bilateral cooperation (focused on international development support by Israel’s MASHAV); Trade and Economic activities.
Israel has a long-term diplomatic and bilateral partnership with Ghana. Ghana was the first African country to establish diplomatic relations with the State of Israel, the second state in Africa to have an Israeli embassy and the first African state to have a state visit by Israel’s former Foreign Minister Golda Meir in 1958.
In 2011, the State of Israel reopened its Embassy in Accra, which has since strengthened the relations between Israel and Ghana on the level of government-to-government, business to business and people-to-people relations. On the bilateral level, Israel and Ghana collaborate in sectors such as education, agriculture, health, innovation, entrepreneurship, sanitation and water.