Ghana, Russia to sign visa-free access deal

• Posted on August 21, 2019
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The Governments of Ghana and Russia are looking forward to signing a visa-free access for holders of diplomatic and service passports between Ghana and Russia.

The move is to further deepen the two nations bilateral relations.

Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, made this known at a joint press conference after holding talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow on Tuesday, August 20, 2019.

Both foreign ministers discussed a number of issues of mutual interests to Ghana and Russia.

They acknowledged the long-standing historic relations between the two countries spanning several decades and lauded the contributions both sides have made to expand the spheres of cooperation that exist between the nations at the bilateral and multilateral levels.

According to Madam Botchwey, they also highlighted the important role the recent high-level visits between Ghana and Russia have played in enhancing the two countries relations including the visit in June and May, 2019 respectively of Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Michael Aaron Ocquaye as well as Ghana’s Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo.

Another important issue discussed was the successful Third Session of the Ghana-Russia Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC), held in Saint Petersburg in May, 2019 and the nations commitment to ensuring that the forms of cooperation initiated through the PJCC would occasion an expansion, strengthening and consolidation of our relations in the political, economic, trade, technical and cultural spheres, she said.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on his part, said the negotiations with his Ghanaian counterpart “were substantive, useful and aimed at making the best possible use of our good political dialogue, close contacts in the international arena for enhancing material cooperation, expanding trade and investment exchanges using the mechanisms of the Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation in order to launch mutually beneficial joint projects in various fields – energy, agriculture and infrastructure issues.”

He disclosed that “we reaffirmed our joint determination to help build humanitarian ties and continue to train Ghanaian personnel on the basis of Russian educational institutions.”

He stated that “we agreed to speed up work on some draft agreements and memoranda that will strengthen the legal framework of our cooperation.”

“We agreed to encourage business circles, chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries to continue and intensify direct contacts,” he said.

BY Melvin Tarlue