Trade Between Ghana And Cuba Can Improve Ghana’s Economy

The Ghanaian leader, Nana Akufo Addo and Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez

Ghana and Cuba relations date back to Kwame Nkrumah's era in 1959, when the Cuban government awards scholarships to Ghanaian students to study in the country and also send medical doctors to Ghana to serve rural areas in the country.

However, that relation was reaffirmed on January 21, 2019, when a delegation from Cuba, led by the Deputy Minister for Public Health of the Republic of Cuba, Dr. Mrs. Marcia Cobas Ruiz, paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Charles Owiredu.

On his promise to engage Ghana to diverse international business deals, the President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, received Nana Akufo Addo in Havana, Cuba, on April 4, 2019, to strengthen bilateral ties and sign agreements in the fields of agriculture, food, and the environment.

In a public appearance, both leaders in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución, Diaz-Canel highlighted the bonds of friendship, respect, and cooperation that the Latin-America country has with Ghana since 1959.

After the guard of honor ceremonially welcomed the visiting president the two leaders held official talks.

Nana Akufo-Addo paid a tribute to the national hero of Cuba, José Martí and placed a wreath at the memorial center dedicated to the life and work of the hero in the Plaza de la Revolución.

The president also discussed bilateral cooperation agreements and mutual benefit in the fields of agriculture, sugar production, and the environment.

It is likely that there were talks on hydrocarbons since Ghana produces more than 2 million barrels of oil per day and the authorities of Cuba which consumes about 130,000 barrels from Venezuela may need alternative suppliers because of the political crisis in Venezuela.

The distinguished visitor was accompanied by the Ministers of Foreign Relations and Regional Integration, Health, and Education, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, and Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, respectively, and the ambassador to Cuba, Napoleon Abdulai.

The Ghanaian president thanked the Cuban government and stressed the importance of strengthening relations with Cuba, as well as remembering that his country was the first in Africa to recognize the Cuban Revolution. The late Fidel Castro also visited several African counties.