President John Dramani Mahama has urged Canada to support Africa’s call for reforms to the international financial system, saying the current structure does not adequately serve the continent and the wider Global South.
He made the appeal during talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
President Mahama called for stronger Ghana-Canada cooperation and positioned Ghana as a partner to Canada in promoting multilateralism and a rules-based international order.
He said Ghana’s foreign policy, guided by non-alignment, positive neutrality and the principle of being “friends of all and enemies of none”, provided a basis for deeper engagement.
The President also commended Mr Carney for speaking out against the weakening of multilateralism and the growing use of unilateral actions by some countries.
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“You are quite vocal on issues to do with the breakdown of multilateralism… I think that you are a fresh new voice in terms of global advocacy,” he said.
He drew a comparison between Canada’s recent experience with tariffs and Africa’s concerns about structural inequalities in the global economic system.
President Mahama also acknowledged Canada’s longstanding development support to Ghana, particularly poverty-alleviation programmes in rural northern communities, and cited the former Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as an important part of the bilateral relationship.
Prime Minister Carney said Canada was ready to work closely with Ghana in energy, critical minerals, trade and development.
Both leaders pledged further engagements to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
