The Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, Javier Gutiérrez, has strongly condemned last Saturday’s terror attack against Israel by Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
He said Spain as a country was fully committed to peace in the Middle East and called on the world to join forces to stop violence.
Mr Gutiérrez ,who said this in Accra, yesterday, October 12, at a reception held at his residence to mark Spain’s National Day added that “What’s happening is sad. Let’s pray and hope that peace will prevail,” he said.
What is Spain’s National Day
October 12 every year marks the Fiesta Nacional of Spain, a national holiday that commemorates the date when Spain arrived in America and globalisation began.
In Ghana, the day, which was used to celebrate Spain-Ghana partnership, saw government officials, Members of Parliament, Spanish businesses and nationals attend the reception, which also featured Spanish music, food and drinks.
Ghana preserving democracy
He said as the world was presently struggling with wars, hunger and economic crisis, Spain acknowledged Ghana’s role in preserving democracy, human rights and stability and condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Touching on Spain-Ghana relationship, Mr Gutiérrez said the two countries were working to create growth and address global and regional challenges pointing out that in February this year, during political consultations between the two countries, they set up an ambitious agenda for partnership in areas such as migration, investments, culture, tourism, sports and security.
He said in Spain’s new Cooperation Law, they had commitment to 0.7 per cent of gross national income for development assistance which offered good opportunities for projects in Ghana.
“Moreover, the mainly EU/Spain funded programme Interreg-MAC with €200 million for the period 2021-2027 will greatly benefit Ghana, especially in the green economy and competitiveness fields,” he said.
He expressed delight at the fact that, ambitious investments in sectors such as food production could soon materialise and contribute to job creation and commended the role played by Spain/Ghana Chamber of Commerce for the promotion of these exchanges.
The Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal said Ghana’s cooperation with Spain on security continued to remain strong and Ghana appreciated the support of the Spanish government to the country’s security sector in curbing especially, irregular migration, piracy and violent extremism.
He said another area Spain and Ghana could intensify collaboration was in tourism explaining that, Ghana could learn from the successes chalked up by Spain in its tourism sector.
He said products upgrading, upgrading of skills of tourist operators and improving the capacity of small and medium scale enterprises and the private sector were critical to enhancing Ghana’s tourism drive.
Dr Awal stressed the importance of the two countries joining forces to address global challenges such as poverty alleviation, gender equality and access to quality education.
“Through our joint effort, exchange of knowledge and experiences, we can amplify our impact on these critical issues and set an example for international cooperation,” he said.
He called on Spanish businesses to partner with their Ghanaian counterparts to take advantage of the immense opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand the scope of their businesses and also launch into the African market.
Source:www.graphic.com.gh/
