President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Portuguese counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, have signed bilateral deals of co-operation in the areas of defence, political consultation and trade between their two countries.
Portugal is a southern European country which has economic freedom score of 69.5, making its economy the 30th freest in the 2023 Index. Its score is 1.3 point worse than last year. Portugal is ranked 18th among 44 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is above the world and regional averages.
President Akufo-Addo said, this latest form of agreements would go a long way to strengthen the ties of friendship and the bonds of co-operation between Ghana and Portugal.
Speaking at a Joint Press Conference with President Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa, as part of his 3-day State Visit to Portugal on Tuesday, 18th July 2023, in Lisbon, Portugal, the President stated that the move “is borne out of a decision by Ghana “to turn our back on our old economy, which has been dependent on the production and export of raw materials, and also dependent on aid.”
President Akufo-Addo, opined that “we want to build a value-added, industrialised economy with a modernised agriculture, which is neither victim nor pawn of the world economic order. We want our relations with Portugal and, indeed, the rest of the world, to be characterised by an increase in trade and investment co-operation.”
Meanwhile, Ghanaians are asking if the trip to Portugal could have been avoided and same task carried by Ghana’s mission in that country. Ghana real GDP growth has slowed since the start of 2023 as rising consumer prices and monetary tightening weigh on private consumption and investment and as government spending soars. Instead of the government showing leadership in coming out with credible solutions, President Akuffo Addo and his economics management team continue to show no real efforts in addressing the challenges faced by Ghanaians.
–
Source: Ghanamatters.com
