President Mahama Calls for Stronger Multilateral Ties, Praises China’s Infrastructure Support
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has called for stronger multilateral partnerships, particularly with China, as the world grapples with increasing trade uncertainties and unilateral actions by some nations.
In a bilateral meeting with Premier of the State Council of China Li Qiang during his state visit to the People’s Republic of China, Mahama observed that “the world is changing rapidly” and expressed concern about the erosion of international cooperation established after World War II.
“After the Second World War, we all agreed that we would adopt a multilateral world order. Some countries have decided to act unilaterally, both in terms of their relationship with other countries, but also in terms of destroying the rules based world trade order that we all had agreed to,” Mahama stated.
President Mahama highlighted how these unilateral actions are creating real economic impacts, noting that “countries are slapping tariffs unilaterally on other countries.” He revealed that Ghana has not been immune to these trade disruptions, stating, “My own country, Ghana, has not been spared. We’ve been slapped with 15% tariffs, but I’m sure that is far less than China has been slapped with, and so it’s creating a lot of confusion and unpredictability in the whole world.”
In response to these challenges, Mahama emphasized the importance of like-minded nations working together. “This is a time that countries that have shared values must stand together, and Ghana and China have had shared values. We have voted on international organizations on the same side,” he said.
“As the world becomes more unpredictable, there’s a time that countries like Ghana and China and other willing partners that believe in multilateralism should stand even closer together, and we appreciate the work that China is doing in that regard,” Mahama added.
President Mahama also praised China’s continued support for African development, particularly through infrastructure initiatives. “Let me congratulate China and to thank you for the support you continue to give to Africa through “focac” and belt and drive initiative, these programs are opening up infrastructure that facilitate trade,” he stated.
Mahama specifically highlighted the importance of China’s infrastructure support in the context of Africa’s economic integration efforts. “Africa has adopted the African continental free trade area, and so it becomes important that we put in the infrastructure, the railways, the ports, the roads, to be able to exchange goods between African countries and China has been one of the countries that has assisted in this regard,” he concluded.
