(Left-right) Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and Madam Virginia E. Palmer
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has received the open letters of the United States Ambassador-designate to Ghana, Virginia E. Palmer.
She indicated that the envoy was coming at a time when the relations between both countries had been deepened, adding that Ghana had benefitted greatly from the relationship it had had with the US.
Referring to the rich credentials of the Ambassador, Ms Shirley Botchwey said that efforts would be made to further deepen the relationship.
“We know that you’re going to work very hard to ensure that we even deepen it in the areas that we have already talked about, governance, security, development, and other areas. We are especially grateful for the assistance that the US has given Ghana, specifically in terms of vaccines and also financial assistance to do with the COVID pandemic, and also the strong financial support you gave to COVAX,” she said.
Economic cooperation
During the meeting, which took place last week, the Foreign Affairs Minister indicated that she looked forward to more economic cooperation between Ghana and the US.
“We like to see the relations as special from all others. We hope that you are going to work towards improving what we have now. Apart from that, we have already talked about trade and investment, and we’re hoping to see a lot more on the economic cooperation. For us, this very important, even more so, post-COVID, because all economies, even ours, have been hit.
“We were believed to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world before COVID, and we’re going to grow beyond 6.8 percent. We are all having to crawl our way back out of it, and to probably reach the levels that we were at before COVID, and even do better than that,” the Minister added.
The Foreign Affairs Minister noted that, in fulfilling President Nana Akufo-Addo’s vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid, there is the need for Ghana to attract more investment from the US.
“We want to be able to attract a lot of investment from the United States, so you have your work cut out at a point where we are opening up. And I know that you’ll do your best to bring in your best, and continue from where she left off with regard to security, development, the USAID agenda which is touching lives in the poor and vulnerable areas,” the Minister said.
Profile
Ms Palmer is a seasoned diplomat who has devoted much of her 35-year career to African Affairs.
Prior to her appointment, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources.
She has also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malawi and as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in South Africa.
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