Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has held meetings with the Mauritian Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, and Foreign Minister Maneesh Gobin, in the capital, Port Louis.
At the meeting, Botchwey discussed bilateral issues, and her agenda as a candidate for secretary general of the Commonwealth.
“We had a very fruitful meeting. Our two countries have very close bonds,” Botchwey told journalists after the meeting with Jugnauth which was held behind closed doors.
“I also presented my candidacy and vision for the commonwealth”, she said, highlighting democracy and good governance; the threat of climate change to Small Island Developing States such as Mauritius, skills training and jobs for young people, and trade and investment among member-countries – along lines similar to that of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Significantly, Ghana is due to hold an investment promotion event in Mauritius later this month (26 to 27 August). The event is at the initiative of the Ghanaian Consulate in collaboration with the Economic Development Board of Mauritius (EDBM), and is under the theme “Ghana, the Preferred Investment Destination in West Africa.”
In her meeting with her counterpart, Botchwey who has been an advocate for more intra-Commonwealth trade and investment, complimented Trinidad and Tobago whose Republic Bank has established a trans-Atlantic footprint in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa.
“This must be encouraged; we must see more of this in the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is at a crossroads. The Commonwealth is a very important organisation with immense potential yet to be fully realised,” she said.
