President John Dramani Mahama says Ghana, which is currently the second leading cocoa producer in the world, is ready to share technical support and expertise in the production of the cash crop with Liberia.
According to President Mahama, he has had bilateral talks with Liberia’s President, Joseph Boakai on how the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) could partner Liberia to strengthen cocoa production using modern methods as a joint venture between their two countries.
President Mahama disclosed this to journalists at the credential ceremony at Jubilee House, whilst receiving letters of credence from Mrs Musu Jatu Ruhle, Ambassador of Liberia to Ghana.
“We have a Cocoa Research Institute that has been researching into cocoa for many years, and so we’ve got the experts and all that, and I think that collaboration in that area will be mutually beneficial to both Ghana and Liberia,” President Mahama mentioned.
President Mahama also highlighted on Ghana’ close ties with Liberia, saying that; “We’ve shed blood for each other, and that even makes our bond tighter, because we remember during the Liberian Civil War, Ghanaian soldiers intervened to bring peace back to Liberia, and several of our soldiers died in Liberia, and that makes us even much closer.”
The statesman pointed out that, during the Liberia conflict, many Liberians who fled made Ghana their home, and that they lived in Ghana for many years.
He said those who wanted to go back home to Liberia and settle, with the assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there was a successful repatriation.
“We continue to be proud of the relation we have, because we are essentially one and the same people. We are both members of a sub-region, ECOWAS, and we have to live and work together,” the President said.
President Mahama again expressed the hope that when the Lagos-Abidjan corridor highway begins, they would be a consideration for an extension of it from Abidjan all the way to Dakar to have a common highway that makes it possible for ECOWAS to actualise the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He also proposed the establishment of a ferry route from Monrovia to Lagos, Nigeria to facilitate the movement of goods and people in the subregion.
For her part, the Ambassador of Liberia to Ghana, Mrs Musu Jatu Ruhle, congratulated President Mahama on his decisive victory in Ghana’s December 7, 2024, general election, and further commended Ghanaians for conducting a very successful election.
She extended warm regards from the Liberian President to President Mahama, and that he looked forward to working very closely with him and his government.
Reporting by Stephen Freeman, Accra.
