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Madam Shani Cooper-Zubida, Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone has commended the government for the effective and efficient steps towards ensuring the safety of everyone in Ghana at the height of the COVID-19.

“At that time, many people in other countries were traumatised because of the COVID-19 pandemic but I and my family felt safe in Ghana. The government took good care of its citizens and guests like me,” she said.

Madam Cooper-Zubida said this when she paid a farewell courtesy call on the management of the Ghana News Agency after a three-year duty tour.

Mrs Beatrice Akua Asamani Savage, Director of Editorial at GNA, and her team, welcomed Madam Cooper-Zubida and her officials.

Madam Cooper-Zubida said her short stay in the country, which was marked by the warm Ghana hospitality on arrival, had been memorable and that so that much had been achieved in the areas of education, entrepreneurship, trade and health through bilateral relations of the two countries.

Madam Cooper-Zubida stated that the two countries had worked together in the areas of technology transfer, education, real estate, agro development and exchange programmes.

“Our approach is not to impose technology on a country but we work with experts in that country to develop the solutions. Currently extension officers across Ghana were undertaking online tailored programmes designed by the Agriculture Ministry and their counterpart from Israel to help boost crop production,” she said.

Israel, she said, had trained more that 150 agricultural students through 11 month-long practical trainings in the ‘Agrostudies’ programme.

Madam Cooper-Zubida stated that the Israeli Trade and Economic Mission continued to encourage more investments and more business between the countries in Agriculture.

“One of such was the GHrowIL Agriculture conference that brought to Ghana 18 Israeli companies to meet key players in the Agriculture sector of Ghana for business. The great partnerships forged at this event have led to bilateral business agreements in diverse areas of Agriculture Technology,” she said.

The Ambassador noted that, during her tour, she made Ghana a priority in the Isreali Foreign Ministry programing, resulting in the opening of new economic mission, pushed to sign more agreements and had resulted in the rise of Ghanaian issues in Israeli public sphere.

Madam Cooper-Zubida recounted that Israeli investors were eager to take advantage of Ghana’s business-friendly environment to invest in the economy – give jobs and create wealth for the people.

She noted that the Embassy held the maiden edition of the Israel Green Innovation Competition for Start-ups and trained senior officials in the innovation field, to identify Ghana with a conducive environment for thriving innovators in Africa.

Madam Cooper-Zubida said Ghana and Israel had had successful bilateral relations, adding that there had been high profile visits from Israel as well as cooperation in various areas, which had been of mutual benefit to both countries.

Madam Cooper-Zubida informed that the Ghana-Israel Business Chamber, University of Ghana Medical Centre and scholarships to Ghanaian students were some of the benefits of Ghana and Israel bilateral relations.

She revealed that, about 2,000 Ghanaian students had benefited from MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development and Cooperation) training programmes since 1958.

Madam Cooper-Zubida commended the Ghana News Agency for remaining balanced, credible and important role it played in the media landscape.

Mrs Asamani said the GNA would continue to be fair and balance in its reportage and that it would not compromise its credibility as it pursued its core objective of national unity and development.

She informed that the Ghana News Agency was the first national wire service in sub-Saharan Africa established on the 5th of March, 1957 by Ghana’s first Prime Minister and President Kwame Nkrumah to disseminate truthful unbiased news and to tell the African story from an African perceptive.