The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (MP) received open letters from the Ambassador-Designate of the State of Israel to the Republic of Ghana, Her Excellency Shani Cooper-Zubida on Monday, August 27, 2018.
Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey congratulated Her Excellency Shani Cooper-Zubida and wished her a successful tenure of office. She said Ghana and Israel have had successful bilateral relations and added that between last year and this year there has been high profile visits from Israel as well as cooperation in various areas which has been of mutual benefit to both countries.
Hon. Botchwey mentioned the Ghana-Israel Business Chamber, University of Ghana Medical Centre and scholarships to Ghanaian students as some of the benefits of Ghana and Israel bilateral relations. She urged that both countries further deepen cooperation in the agriculture sector and was grateful there had been earlier exchange programmes in agriculture. She added that Ghana will want to learn from Israel’s agriculture model and stated that it would help advance Government’s “Planting for food and Jobs” initiative. The Minister stated that Ghana was happy about the cooperation in the health sector and hoped that new programmes would be introduced.
Her Excellency Shani Cooper-Zubida, for her part said Israel hopes to further strengthen its relations with Ghana and Africa as a whole. She revealed that, about 2,000 Ghanaian students have benefited from MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development and Cooperation) training programmes since 1958. She hinted that an agricultural instructor will soon be in Ghana to teach on the best practices for corn farming. She further indicated that fifty (50) Ghanaian students would this year go to Israel for courses in agriculture to enhance their knowledge about the sector. According to her, Israel would continue to help with the upgrading of neonatal units in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
Her Excellency Cooper-Zubida expressed her country’s appreciation to the Ghana Armed Forces for its role in peacekeeping in the world and added that Israel will continue to have security cooperation with Ghana. She said the two countries have a lot to learn from each other and added that members of the Israeli Parliament will soon pay a working visit to Ghana.
©IPAB