1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha, after leaving the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on the morning of July 12, arrived in Accra, the capital of the Republic of Ghana, and paid a courtesy call on Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. During the courtesy call, the two sides exchanged views on ways to strengthen substantive cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Ghana; regional issues, including maritime security in West Africa and the peace process on the Korean Peninsula; and the safety of Korean enterprises and residents in Ghana.

° Ghana, which is forecast to see the fastest economic growth in the world in 2019, is an exemplary leader of democracy in West Africa that has seen peaceful transfers of power since 1992, and one of the ROK’s main partners for development cooperation in Africa (the 4^th biggest recipient of the ROK’s loans and grants to Africa).  

2. Minister Kang mentioned that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1977, the ROK and Ghana have steadily advanced their friendly and cooperative ties on the basis of their shared values of democracy and free trade order; and have a special relationship as the home countries of former Secretaries-General of the United Nations, the late Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon. The Minister voiced hope to further strengthen substantive cooperation between two countries in various areas such as trade, investment and development in a mutually beneficial way.

° Vice President Bawumia mentioned that Ghana appreciates the ROK as a development model; extended appreciation to the ROK for its assistance on development cooperation projects in various areas, including agricultural and rural development, education, healthcare and energy; and expressed hope for further advances in the bilateral relations, including through more active high-level exchanges.

3. Minister Kang congratulated Ghana on being selected as the host country of theAfrican Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat during the Special Summit of the African Union (AU) held on July 7. She went on to suggest that the two countries continue to explore ways to work together in a mutually beneficial manner by promoting free trade toward the success of the “Ghana Beyond Aid” policy carried out by the Ghanaian government.

° In particular, Minister Kang expressed hope that the ongoing cooperation project to build an electronic customs clearance system by the customs authorities of the two countries will help facilitate trade and thereby contribute to the development of Ghana into a trade hub in West Africa.

° Vice President Bawumia voiced hope that Korean enterprises with outstanding technology and expertise will use opportunities, created by the launch of the AfCFTA, to expand investment in Ghana, a gateway to the African market.

° Minister Kang mentioned that Korean residents and companies in Ghana are mostly working in the fisheries industry; extended appreciation to the Ghanaian government for its active assistance in handling the case of the abduction of ROK nationals by pirates in 2018; and asked for the Ghanaian government’s continued attention to and assistance on the safety of the ROK nationals.

4. Minister Kang spoke about the meetings held at Panmunjeom on June 30 between the leaders of the United States (U.S.) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as well as among those of the ROK, the DPRK and the U.S.; extended gratitude to the Ghanaian government for expressing its will to support the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, including in its statement welcoming the inter-Korean summit held on April 27, 2018; and asked the Ghanaian government to strongly support efforts to achieve complete denuclearization and establish a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. 

° Vice President Bawumia mentioned that Ghana is taking an active part in the efforts for peace in the international community including the UN peacekeeping operations (PKO). Adding that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is important to the international community as well, he reaffirmed firm support of Ghana for the Moon Jae-in government’s peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

5. After the courtesy call on the Vice President, Minister Kang visited the national military cemetery, during which she paid tribute to the late UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and laid a wreath at his grave.

6. Later in the day, Minister Kang had a dinner meeting with the heads of the Ghana offices of five ROK government agencies. During the meeting, the Minister asked the participants to strengthen the Embassy-led cooperation among the government agencies; and to communicate closely with the Korea-Africa Foundation launched in 2018 under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and thereby to create positive synergistic effects.

* unofficial translation