Ghana remains friends to all and enemies to none — Mahama   

President John Dramani Mahama has reiterated that Ghana’s foreign policy remains rooted in the country’s long-standing non-aligned doctrine of being “friends to all and enemies to none.”

Speaking at the Financial Times (FT) Africa Summit in London, President Mahama said Ghana welcomed investors from all parts of the world and remained committed to maintaining cordial relations with all nations.

The 13th edition of the two-day forum brought together global business leaders, policymakers and heads of state under the theme: “Mobilising Growth in a New Global Order.”

“We are friends to all and enemies to none. Ghana's policy of non-alignment has served us well, and so we welcome investors from all over the world. It is not about competition. It is about investment and a fair return for everybody, including ourselves. That is the condition,” President Mahama said.

He stressed that Ghana maintained friendly relations with the United States, the European Union, China and Russia.

“Indeed, I am going to Russia for the Russia-Africa Summit and will try to convince President Putin to agree to a ceasefire, if I can. We are friends to all, enemies to none, and everybody is welcome.”

Touching on Russian involvement in the Sahel and regional security, President Mahama said countries should be free to seek assistance from any partner willing to support the fight against terrorism.

He noted that Ghana collaborates with the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the United States through intelligence-sharing and joint training initiatives.

“I believe that the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) countries should open up so that anybody interested in assisting in the fight against terrorism can do so,” the President said.

The President called for a renewed security cooperation framework in West Africa.

“We need a new framework of cooperation in West Africa. We had the Accra Initiative, but that seems to have run aground, and so we are working to establish a new framework.”

President Mahama noted that two conferences had been held in Accra and that, more recently, ECOWAS negotiators and representatives of the AES countries had met in Dakar, Senegal.

He expressed optimism that the ongoing dialogue would create a platform for collective action against violent extremism in the sub-region.

On relations between ECOWAS and the AES countries, President Mahama described ECOWAS as a resilient institution capable of overcoming current challenges.

He noted that ECOWAS was established before the European Union and had introduced a protocol on free movement ahead of the EU.

“We have the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, which allows us to trade freely among ourselves,” he said.

The President observed that despite the schism between ECOWAS and the AES bloc, existing protocols governing the free movement of people and goods remained intact.

“I think the basic foundation for cooperation continues to exist. It is not a complete divorce. Maybe we have moved into separate rooms, but we live in the same house, and we are still married,” the President said.

He expressed confidence that continued dialogue would eventually lead to a workable relationship, even if immediate readmission of the AES countries into ECOWAS was not achieved.

Commenting on funding for the ECOWAS Standby Force, President Mahama said the challenge was not the availability of trained military personnel but rather the mobilisation of financial resources.

He pointed to delays in the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2719, which was expected to facilitate funding through UN-assessed contributions.

According to him, reduced funding support for the United Nations had further complicated efforts to operationalise the arrangement.

“We think Africa can carry out some of these interventions ourselves. It is just that our economies are still fragile.

“I have a budget to allocate to healthcare and education, and so there is a limit to how much I can spend on defence.”

President Mahama expressed hope that implementation of the UN resolution would enable the region to secure the resources needed to activate the ECOWAS Standby Force.

GNA