Prez Akufo-Addo commends Norway’s Oil for Devt programme, says it has helped Ghana’s industry
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commended the Norwegian government for its Oil for Development (OID) programme which he said has contributed significantly to Ghana’s oil and gas industry.
The President gave the commendation during a joint news briefing with the Norwegian Prime Minister, Ms Erna Solberg, at the Jubilee House in Accra last Friday after bilateral talks between the two leaders.
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The OID programme, launched by the Norwegian Government in 2005, seeks to ensure responsible management of petroleum resources to safeguard the needs of future generations.
The assistance provided by the OID to a partner country is tailor-made to conform to domestic conditions and demands in the beneficiary country.
President Akufo-Addo also expressed delight at the fact that more Norwegian companies were investing in Ghana, with particular reference to Aker Energy.
Aker Energy has a long-term ambition to share knowledge and support local industries to a level where they could be exporters of oil and related services.
“I am especially pleased with the commitment of Aker to work with us to engineer and inspire the industrial development of our country to help us achieve the structural transformation of our economy,” the President added.
Partner Country Initiative
President Akufo-Addo described as welcoming Norway’s ‘Partner Country Initiative’ aimed at ensuring that partner countries became independent of aid in the long term.
The initiative, he said, fitted in perfectly with Ghana’s vision of a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid.’
The aim of the initiative is to achieve better results in partner countries, so that those countries will become independent of aid in the long term.
This requires an integrated approach to development that takes into account the varied and complex challenges that different countries must deal with.
Investment climate
President Akufo-Addo assured the investor community that the government would continue to maintain a conducive investment atmosphere that would guarantee the safety of their investments.
He welcomed the growing interest of Norwegian investors in the Ghanaian economy.
Currently, there are more than 50 Norwegian companies operating in Ghana.
The President said the investors were not only assured of a sound environment in which to operate but also good returns on their investments.
According to President Akufo-Addo, Ghana and Norway shared similar positions on many of the issues of the day, especially the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Accord, the strengthening of the multilateral system of international co-operation and the need to employ peaceful means to resolve disputes.
He further expressed satisfaction with the “Fish for Development” initiative signed by the two countries and said its implementation would have a positive impact on the management of Ghana’s marine resources for the creation of wealth and jobs, particularly in fishing communities, in line with the realisation of SDG 14.
UN Reforms
On UN Reforms, President Akufo-Addo said: “We are fully committed to Africa’s Common Position on UN Reform, based on the Ezulwini Consensus, and are anxious that the matter of UN Reform finds its way back quickly onto the global agenda.
“We solicit the support of Norway and other countries of Europe for this long, overdue reform.
It is well past the time to correct the long-standing injustice that the current structure and composition of the UN Security Council represents for the nations of Africa,” he added.
Prime Minister
Prime Minister Solberg for his part, commended the President for his vision of ensuring a prosperous Ghana and Africa.
She said Ghana stood a good chance of advancing its development to improve on the standard of living of its people.