Foreign Minister receives a farewell call from Netherland’s Ambassador

Honourable Shirley Aryokor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has received a farewell call from H.E Ronald Gerard Strikker, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ghana on Wednesday July 21, 2021.

Ambassador Ronald Gerard Strikker, a career diplomat with a background in law, was appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ghana in 2016. Prior to that, he served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Honourable Minister Ayorkor congratulated him on the successful completion of his tour of duty in Ghana and acknowledged that Ghana and the Netherlands have had long-standing and fruitful bilateral relations, which date back to the 1970s.

She reaffirmed Ghana’s determination and her personal desire to continue to forge strong partnerships of cooperation and to consolidate as well as deepen relations between the two countries for the mutual benefit of our two peoples.

Madam Ayorkor Botchwey noted that, during his tenure, relations between the two countries were characterized by the regular exchange of high level visits, notably the following, which offered the Ghanaian and Dutch leaders, an opportunity to renew their commitment to tackle issues of mutual interest; Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Netherlands, H.E. Mark Rutte, visit to Ghana in November 2017 and Dutch Deputy Prime Minister, H.E. Madam Carola Schouten, visit to Ghana in February 2019.

Among others, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Hon. Sigrid Kaag, visit to Ghana in November 2017 and visit to the Netherlands by a five-member delegation from the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs of Ghana, led by the then Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Emmanuel Bandua in August 2016;

Madam Shirley Aryokor Botchwey expressed appreciation to the Dutch Government for its firm support to Ghana’s health sector over the years, including the provision of funding for the construction of five (5) medical clinics in the Western Region. Also mentioned the installation of 52 X-ray systems across Ghana, equipped with Computer Aided Detection for TB (CAD4TB) and tele radiology by Dutch firms Oldelft Benelux and Universal Hospitals Group as well as the construction of a water treatment plant in Navrongo;

She observed that the Netherlands was the lead market destination for Ghana’s non-traditional exports in 2016 and underscored the need to bolster the trade relations between the two countries by leveraging on Ghana’s hosting of the Secretariat of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.

Hon Minister refered to the Netherlands’ support of Ghana’s economic development, through several private sector instruments such as the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF), the Development-Related Infrastructure Investment Vehicle (DRIVE), Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), the Matchmaking Facility for Developing Countries and the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI).

She noted that these initiatives enhance trade promotion and investment as well as introduced new financing and business models, which encourage participation of the Dutch private sector in Ghana’s economy;

She conveyed appreciation for the strong Dutch commitment and participation in the on-going EU-Ghana Sustainable Cocoa Dialogue, which has been a great success thus far.

Foreign Minister, expressed the hope that in the coming years the two countries can explore new areas of cooperation particularly in the areas of energy, metallurgy and machinery, where the Netherlands has enormous expertise and comparative advantage, and urged the Ambassador to suggest these areas to his successor;

She was further optimistic that, Ambassador Strikker will be an advocate for Ghana by promoting the good initiatives of the Ghanaian Government wherever he finds himself and assured him that the Government will collaborate with and support his successor to ensure further elevation of the bilateral relations between Ghana and the Netherlands.

Source :Kessbenonline.com/johnawuniktv@gmail.com