Mills Secures Support for Ghana

President John Evans Atta Mills has secured South American support for Ghana�s agricultural, health and energy sectors and initiated steps for Argentina to support Ghanaians in their study of Spanish. This followed President Mills� participation in the second African-South America Summit at the weekend at Porlarmar on the Island of Margariat, Venezuela. During bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit, Argentine President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, said he appreciated the efforts of the government of Ghana to improve the lives of Ghanaians and noted that agriculture played a key role in the economies of developing countries. Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who briefed journalists in Washington DC, said Argentina pledged to support Ghana�s livestock sector with technical assistance. The assistance, he said, was to re-energise the sector, create jobs, make Ghana self-sufficient in food and livestock production as well as to create an export market. He said President Mills expressed concern about the collapse of the livestock industry in Ghana which had necessitated his call for assistance to revive the sector. The two leaders agreed to a follow up on the pledge for which a high powered government delegation would soon be in Argentina to finalise the deal. At the same Summit, Brazil pledged technical support for Ghana�s energy sector while Venezuela pledged 20 million dollars for the control of malaria in Ghana and Cote d�Ivoire. The leaders agreed to establish an intercontinental bank along the line of the World Bank with a proposed initial capital of 20 billion dollars. The proposed bank will address the financial needs of members who are not able to meet the conditions of the Breton Woods institutions. Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela agreed to make an initial contribution of four billion dollars each. A declaration adopted at the end of the summit acknowledged the active participation of African descendants in the development of South America and their contributions to South American countries� independence. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to promote South-South co-operation as a major objective of both regions in order to complement the traditional North-South co-operation sustained economic growth. � President Mills on an Investment drive in the US said it was time Africans in the Diaspora invested their capital and expertise on the continent to make it an economic power. Ghana, he said, was the preferred investment destination in Africa, considering her political stability, sound democratic credentials, friendly people and rich natural resources. At a luncheon organised in his honour in Prince George�s County in Maryland by the Africa Trade Office, President Mills said the Government was ready to strengthen Ghana US relations to create a better life for the people, using the country�s huge investment potential. He said the visit to Ghana by US President Barack Obama had placed on the country, a sacred duty to blaze the trail, and to improve the living standards of the people. He said that under no circumstance would his Government misapply the country�s resources since it was only a trustee. �The resources of the State must be used for the benefit of the people,� he declared. President Mills reiterated government�s commitment to honesty openness, transparency, accountability and invited the Diasporan Community to assist government to build a better Ghana. Dr Patricia Hayes, Director of Africa Trade Office, said the office established in 2008, was to establish strategic alliance for business opportunities in prime US locations for other overseas countries.