Ghana and South Africa have signed a deal for the establishment of a bi-national commission.
The agreement was completed at the Jubilee House, the seat of Ghana’s government in the national capital, Accra, on the sidelines of the working visit of South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, signed the agreement on behalf of Ghana.
Dr Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, signed on behalf of her country.
The purpose of the Commission is to seek ways and means of promoting and enhancing co-operation in the various sectors of government and to co-ordinate initiatives in this regard as well as to facilitate contact between the public and private sectors of the two countries.
Thus, the objective of this agreement signed at the Jubilee House is to establish a framework within which both Ghana and South Africa may conduct their relationship and to set out the modalities and institutional mechanisms of cooperation.
Composition of Commission
The Commission shall, per the agreement, be chaired jointly by the President of Ghana and the President of South Africa or their authorised representatives in line with the accepted diplomatic protocol.
Structure
It shall consist of senior government representatives of the parties in the various sectors of cooperation agreed upon for the achievement of the Commission’s objectives; and adopt its own rules of procedure.
Sectoral Committees
Sectoral Committees shall be established by the Commission when deemed necessary.
Public and private sector representatives may be invited to participate in meetings of Sectoral Committees or in other structures established by these Committees in line with the agreement.
Sectoral Committees shall, per the agreement, adopt their own rules of procedure consistent with the rules of procedure of the Commission; meet as and when required; and present reports of its meetings to the Commission for approval.
Areas of Cooperation
Per the agreement, both nations are to cooperate in the fields of economic, cultural, scientific, technical, social and other areas as may be identified by them.
Mr Ramaphosa arrived in Accra on Wednesday night, 4 December 2019, for a two-day working visit.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com
