Ghana opposed to acts that violate sovereignty, territorial integrity - Ayorkor Botchwey
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has affirmed that Ghana as a member of the United Nations (UN) is opposed to acts that violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any member state of the UN.
She stated that being a member state meant that Ghana subscribed to the UN Charter fully, therefore any invasion of a member state by another was considered a breach of the letter and spirit of the charter.
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Ms Botchwey said this when the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, led a high powered delegation made up of Ukrainian officials and business people to have bilateral talks with the ministry.
10-Day African Tour
The Ukrainian Minister was in the country as part of his 10-Day African tour and to deliver a special message from the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the President, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.
Before his arrival in Ghana yesterday he had already been to Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire, and from Ghana he would visit East Africa where his first stop would be Kenya.
"It is not because we are against Russia but it is because of the principle that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every member state, including Ukraine, must be respected. Ghana recognises its historical role in contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security through the UN, African Union and ECOWAS. We remain firmly committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes," she explained.
Bilateral relations
Touching on the bilateral relations between the two countries, which she traced to 1992, Ms Botchwey said it had been strong at the political front, adding that there was the need to also strengthen trade and economic ties.
She, therefore, called for the deepening of economic cooperation between Ghana and Ukraine in the near future to allow Ghana to continue its export of manganese, aluminium ore and cocoa powder to Ukraine, and for it to also benefit from imports from Ukraine which would include hot-rolled iron, cold-rolled iron and grains.
The minister also touched on food security highlighting the fact that the timely arrival of about 23,000 metric tons of grains from Ukraine in the Horn of Africa where more than 20 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia faced severe hunger due to drought.
Alignment
For his part, Mr Kuleba said despite the fact that Ukraine was situated in Eastern Europe and Ghana in West Africa, they were completely aligned on all major issues of international politics and as such as Ghana supported Ukraine, they would also support Ghana.
He explained that his visit to the country was to build stronger relationship based on appreciation of the shared principles and mutually beneficial joint undertakings.
On the war in Ukraine, he said it would have to stop, adding that ‘we will win it because we defend the right course and the principles of sovereignity and territorial integrity of every nation and I’m happy these are exactly the principles Ghana stands for and is ready to defend.’
Mr Kuleba, who had earlier met with President Akuffo Addo, described his speech at the UN General Assembly in which he said every bullet and bomb fired in Ukraine was felt in Africa, as the clearest and most eloquent statement and a reflection of the global implications of the Russian aggression on Ukraine.