By Christopher Arko, GNA
Accra, Nov. 16, GNA – Dwelling on the unique
opportunities between Ghana and Barbados, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of
Barbados, has called for closer ties between the two nations for mutual
benefits.
She said both countries could explore their
unique opportunities to the advantage of their people.
Prime Minister Motley made the call in Accra
when she addressed Parliament, on Friday, as part of her three-day official
visit to Ghana.
She is the first Prime Minister of Barbados
to address the Parliament of Ghana. Barbados and Ghana started formal
diplomatic relations in 1994.
The Prime Minster, among other things, is in
the country to take part in the “Year of Return” festivities.
The “Year of Return, Ghana 2019” is a major
marketing campaign targeting the African–American and Diaspora markets to mark
400 years of the first enslaved Africans arriving in Jamestown Virginia.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in
June this year, visited Barbados where he formally invited the Prime Minister
to visit Ghana.
Prime Minister Mottley also traced the
history of Barbados and paid tribute to the many African slave warriors who
sacrificed their lives leading to the total emancipation of the people.
“Our ancestors and your ancestors, kith and
kin in Barbados, are of great honour, dignity and achievement,” she said to an
applause from the legislators.
She paid glowing tribute to Dr Kwame
Nkrumah, Ghana’s First President, and Mr A. F. Ribero, a lawyer in the then
Gold Coast, for their pioneering role in the Pan-African Congress in Manchester
that put in motion critical political process leading to Ghana attaining
independence.
Both the Caribbean and African nations also
achieved extensive decolonisation.
Prime Minister Mottley commended the
initiative, under which Ghanaians and Barbados citizens travelling to each
other’s country did not need a visa.
“Now that they have reduced laborious paper
restrictions on travelling, the two countries must now build on the concrete
bridges to increase their travel volumes to each other’s country,” she said.
Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, praised the
Prime Minister for an “excellent and most inspiring speech,” emphasizing the
deepening of the natural affinity between Accra and Bridgetown.
“May God bless you and your delegation,”
Speaker Oquaye said, and wished the Prime Minister and her delegation, that
included business leaders, a safe flight back home.
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority
Leader, paid glowing tribute to the Prime Minister and described her as a woman
with profound strength and intellect.
He called on both countries to deepen their
ties for the benefit of their people.
“The time has come for Ghana and Barbados to
deepen the ties of cooperation,” he said, and commended the Prime Minister for
bringing to the fore the issue of climate change, which had to be tackled
head-on by world leaders.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader,
applauded the Prime Minister for her passionate appeal to Africans and those in
the Diaspora to close their ranks and forge ahead in unity.
He said he agreed with Prime Minister
Mottley that leaders in developing countries must unite to end the unjust
International World Order.
He urged Ghana and Barbados to explore their
prospects for the good of their citizens.
GNA
