By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, June 09, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday afternoon returned home from his high level visits to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Belarus.
He was met on arrival at the Accra International Airport by Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the Chief of Staff at the Presidency Mr Julius Debrah, other ministers of state and senior Government officials.
The President paid a five-day high-level working visit to the UK from May 31 to June 3.
The UK visit focused on strengthening bilateral relations, securing major investment deals, and engaging with the Ghanaian diaspora.
Key outcomes include the signing of the Growth Partnership Agreement and significant infrastructure investments.
During the President’s high level visit to the UK, he held closed door meetings with British Monarch King Charles III at the Buckingham Palace in London and the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at No 10 Downing Street in London.
He also held a Town Hall Meeting in London with Diaspora Ghanaians living in the UK, opened two-day Ghana-UK Investment Summit and did a presentation at the Chatham House on the theme “Navigating a Changing Global Order: Ghana’s Strategic Priorities”.
A key highlight of the President’s visit to London was his ringing of the London Stock Exchange Bell, signaling the commencement of the day’s market and his address to investors and. businesses.
He also delivered the keynote address at the 2026 Africa Debate in the historic Guildhall in London.
President Mahama undertook a four-day state visit to Belarus from June 5 to June 9, 2026, at the invitation of President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The visit focused primarily on leveraging Belarusian expertise in agriculture and industry to support Ghana’s modernization and food security goals.
Addressing the press on his arrival at the Jubilee lounge of the Accra International Airport, President Mahama said with respect of the Ghana Investment Summit, which was held regularly in the UK, was attended by investors, not only from the UK but from across Europe.
He said the Summit had become almost an EU affair, and so it was very well attended, adding that there were a lot of interest because of Ghana’s recent economic performance.
The President said on the sidelines of the Summit they signed the Ghana-UK Group Partnership Agreements.
“We are moving our relationship from one of dependency to one of trade investments. And this is one of the foundations of that new relationship,” he stated.
President Mahama said under that Group and Investments Agreement they signed an agreement to set up a first commercial-scale ship repair yard in Takoradi, close to the Harbour to integrate the whole of that western corridor in terms of marine activity.
He said the £101 million project would create the targeted floating dock for ship repair.
Touching on the state visit to Belarus, President Mahama said they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for supply of agricultural tractors, combined harvests, plows, arrows, boomswares, and modern agricultural equipment as part of their programme for the Farmers Service Centres to provide mechanization for the nation’s farmers.
“But not only that, they are looking at the whole value chain. So, this is not enough to have good equipment. It is the agronomy, the seeds, and the fertilizer, and everything, how you manage the farm. And they are very good at farm management.” The President said.
‘And so, they are not only bringing us equipment, they are bringing us people, personnel, to come and work with our farmers to increase their productivity in the area of agriculture.”
He noted that Ghana and Belarus signed three agreements – agricultural corporation, a joint economic commission and a third one on trade.
President Mahama said that he had a very warm bilateral meeting with his Belarusian counterpart President Lukashenko.
He noted that h believed that Belarus was seeing the opportunities of opening up into Africa.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei