By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, Nov. 04, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has held bilateral talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
The two leaders discussed the long-standing Ghana-Canada relationship and the growing strain on multilateral cooperation.
Reflecting on the historical ties between the two nations, President Mahama noted that Canada was once Ghana’s leading creditor, with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) playing a significant role in development work, particularly in rural communities in northern Ghana where he grew up.
“Canada has had a very favourable opinion in Ghana. I think that there are things we can do to build that up,” the President said.
He commended Prime Minister Carney for his vocal stance on the breakdown of multilateralism and the rise of unilateral actions by some nations.
He noted that Canada had been the target of some of the strongest tariffs, while Ghana had a rate of about 13 per cent.
“I think you have faced more tariffs,” President Mahama told the Canadian Prime Minister.
He noted that Prime Minister Carney was a fresh new voice in terms of global advocacy.
President Mahama said Africa had been talking about a rigged global system where Africa borrows more expensively, Africa contributed the least (four per cent to the climate crisis, yet Africa faces some of the worst crises caused by climate events.
He said Africa had to borrow at a higher rate to be able to deal with the climate fall out.
The President said Canada had a favourable disposition towards the global South; saying “And with what is going on in the world, I think that this is the time for us to come closer together, there are those of us who believe in the rule based system, in a multilateral system, this is the time to work closer together”.
The meeting underscored Ghana’s interest in deepening cooperation with Canada at a time of shifting global trade dynamics and increasing pressure on the multilateral system.
On his part, Prime Minister Carney expressed Canada’s readiness to deepen bilateral cooperation with Ghana in key sectors, including energy, critical minerals, trade and development.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei