The Minister-designate for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has appealed to Russia to increase the number of scholarships it provides to Ghanaians yearly to about 100.
According to her, increasing the scholarships to 100 was key to consolidating the enduring friendship between the two countries.
She observed the potential for cooperation between Russian diplomatic training institutions and the Ministry’s Foreign Service Institute, which is nearing completion.
Madam Ayorkor Botchwey further called for more Russian investments to Ghana.
She made the calls on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 in Accra when she held a bilateral meeting with Mikhail Bogdanov, Deputy Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister led a delegation comprising Russian Foreign Ministry officials and private business people to Ghana to explore business opportunities in the mining and related sectors in Ghana. A notable person in the Russian delegation is Mr. Boris Ivanov, founder of the company GBP Global Resources, the world’s number one producer of gas with about 16% of the world’s gas reserves.
She said there had been low levels of investment between Russia and Ghana and therefore called for more Russian investments in Ghana especially in the field of energy and the petrochemical industry following the entry into the Ghanaian market of LUKOIL and ROSNEFT.
The Minister-designate provided assurances of Ghana’s commitment towards negotiating with Russia, the Agreement on Investment Promotion and Protection as well as the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation to guarantee Russian investors the security of their investments.
She said as a means of enhancing bilateral relations, Ghana was earnestly preparing to host the Fourth Session of the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation this year, stating that Ghana has received the suggestions from Russia regarding the April meeting to discuss the outcome of the 3rd Session and the holding of the 4th Session in October 2021.
She reassured the Russian envoy of providing responses to the Russian proposals in due course.
Madam Ayorkor Botchwey recalled the historic and enduring relations existing between Ghana and Russia and express the hope that the visit of the Russian delegation will invigorate the relations for the benefit of the two countries as new opportunities are identified.
She acknowledged the immense contribution that Russia has made and continues to make towards the socio-economic development of Ghana and indicate that Russia’s award of scholarships to many Ghanaian students over the years to study in Russia have produced essential human resource capacity to facilitate development of the country.
However, she expressed concern that in recent years the Scholarship Secretariat of Ghana and the Russian Mission have had some differences in the award of scholarships and call for a speedy resolution of the difficulties.
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