President John Mahama says he will appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire when he travels to Russia for the Russia-Africa Summit next week.
Speaking at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London, President Mahama said he intended to use the visit to urge the Russian leader to halt hostilities.
“Indeed, I’m going to Russia for the Russia-Africa summit and try to convince President Putin to have a ceasefire if I can,” he said.
The President also defended Ghana’s investment partnerships with countries across the world, saying the country’s foreign policy would not allow geopolitical rivalries to dictate where it seeks investment.
“We are friends to all and enemies to none. And Ghana’s policy of non-alignment has served us well. And so we welcome investors from all over the world,” he said.
He said Ghana’s focus was on securing investments that deliver benefits to both the country and its partners.
“It’s not about competition. It’s about investment and a fair return to everybody, including ourselves,” he said.
President Mahama said Ghana maintained friendly relations with the United States, the European Union, China and Russia, adding that its non-aligned foreign policy continued to guide its international engagements.
On the economy, he outlined plans to end the export of raw minerals by 2030, saying the government wanted to expand local processing, create jobs and retain more value from the country’s natural resources.
He said achieving the target would require partnerships with investors to establish industries capable of processing raw materials in Ghana.
The President stressed that investment should create economic opportunities for surrounding communities instead of generating wealth in isolated areas.
“We’ve gone past the time where you had enclaves of prosperity and surrounded by impoverished communities. It’s in the interest of the investor to have a safe environment. You cannot have prosperity in the midst of poverty. That itself is a danger to investments. And so it’s a win-win. It’s not a zero-sum game,” he said.
Citing gold as an example, President Mahama said 70 per cent of Ghana’s gold was currently refined locally before export.
The government is also targeting the domestic processing of at least 50 per cent of the cocoa beans produced annually.
He said expanding processing in the gold and cocoa sectors would support job creation, strengthen local industries and enable Ghana to retain a greater share of the value generated from its natural resources.
