Prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ghana, the Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway signed two important bilateral agreements today (November 30, 2018) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ghana.
The first is a General Co-operation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; and the second, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Ghana and the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Visa Waiver.
The Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway called Prime Minister Gonsalves the Champion of the Africa-Caribbean co-operation initiative. She said that Africa and Caribbean countries do not have strong bonds that should exist” given “we are one and the same people”. She said the signing of the agreements is a step which would usher both countries into a new era of a relationship which will be beneficial to both countries.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gonsalves said “we ought to form an African-Brazil-Caribbean Commission to enhance trade and economic cooperation, marine and air transport co-operation among others” to which he said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo responded by suggesting the diaspora be added making it the ABCD Commission, a group which covers at least 1.7 billion people.
Prime Minister Gonsalves said the cooperation agreement is a very important one and Ghana a very important staging post for future development and cooperation. He added that the signing of the agreements is a very important starting point.
The General Co-operation Agreement covers areas including Agriculture, Education, Culture, ICT and Human Resource expertise.
Ghanaians, before the visa waiver agreement, did not require a Visa for travel to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, however, there was a Visa requirement for citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for travel to Ghana.