Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, will come to Ghana for a state visit from 11th to 13th December 2017.
He will be accompanied by the Federal Minister for Economy and Energy, Mrs. Brigitte Zypries; Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Friedrich Kitschel; and the State Minister at the German Foreign Office, Maria Böhmer, as well as a substantial business delegation and guests from civil society.
The state visit to Ghana will be the first trip to an African country by President Steinmeier since he took office in February 2017. This underlines the close partnership between Ghana and Germany 60 years after establishing diplomatic relations.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will receive President Steinmeier on December 12th, 2017.
The visit will focus on the youth in Ghana; scientific and academic cooperation and migration; and vocational training as well as investment and business promotion.
German support for the G20 Compact with Africa/New Investment Partnership
Under the auspices of the two presidents, Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta and the German Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Friedrich Kitschelt, will sign the bilateral ‘Investment and Reform Partnership’, bringing up to €100mn of German government support to promote private investment into renewable energy in Ghana, as well as vocational training. The investment partnership supports Germany’s commitments under the G20 Compact with Africa, which were signed in Berlin in June 2017.
The President will be accompanied by 17 representatives of German companies realising Germany’s commitment under the G20 Compact with Africa to bring more German investment to Ghana.
Reinforcing research cooperation between Germany and Africa
Under the auspices of the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon, the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development, Francis Dodoo, and the Director of the Arnold-Bergstraesser Institute of the University of Freiburg, Germany, Andreas Mehler, will sign a cooperation agreement for opening a Merian International Centre for Advanced Studies at the University of Ghana. The Centre has a thematic focus on sustainable governance, and will be supported by the German Ministry for Education and Research. The Centre will be the first of its kind in Africa.
Stronger partnership between Europe and Africa
President Steinmeier will conduct a discussion at the University of Ghana, Legon, with academics and students.
Vocational Training
He will visit the West-African Transport Academy (WATA) in Tema, which is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the German investors Scania, Bosch, and ZF on the one side, and German Development Cooperation on the other side. The Academy offers state of the art training facilities for young Ghanaians.
Support for Start-Up companies in Ghana
President Steinmeier will also meet with young Ghanaian entrepreneurs (start-ups) who are currently being supported by Germany, with the aim of developing their businesses and linking them with international oufits.
Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration
The German president will attend the sod-cutting ceremony at the new Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration in Accra. As of December, the Centre offers advice on technical and vocational education and training opportunities in Ghana, supports returnees from Europe in their reintegration, and provides information on the risks of irregular migration and the possibilities for legal migration to Europe. It will make use of the extensive network of German cooperation in Ghana, especially in the areas of TVET and agriculture.
Security situation in the region
President Steinmeier will have encounters with experts and staff of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and get first-hand information on the security situation in West Africa. Germany is one of the main supporters of the KAIPTC.
