Diplomatic sources to visit Dendia in Ghana-Gabon: Strengthening Greece’s relations with African countries

Ghana and Gabon will be visited successively tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Thursday, by Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, continuing the policy of enlarging and strengthening Greece’s relations with sub-Saharan Africa, following his recent visit to Rwanda. Diplomatic sources emphasize that Ghana and Gabon will take up a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for a period of two years from 1 January 2022. 26, as well as the timeless importance of the SA, especially with regard to the Cyprus issue, and more recently other issues of immediate Greek interest, such as Libya and Syria, it is considered imperative to strengthen ties with the countries that make up the Security Council.

So far, only in the last six months, they point out, the Foreign Minister has had extensive bilateral contacts with his counterparts from 11 of the 15 members of the Security Council for the period 2022-25. These include the 5 permanent members (France, United Kingdom, USA, China and Russia), with three of which our country has also signed important agreements.

In addition, they note that the Foreign Minister had met with his Ghanaian counterparts Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and Gabon Pacome Moubelet Boubeya on the sidelines of the 76th General Assembly.

In the above meetings, as they report, apart from the bilateral relations, which are limited, as there had been no contact of a Greek Foreign Minister with his counterparts from these countries in the past, the treatment of the pandemic was also examined.

Greece will donate 150,000 vaccines to Ghana and 200,000 to Gabon

They point out that the Gabonese Foreign Minister had expressed his special thanks, as Greece was the first European country to offer vaccines and added that tomorrow’s visit is the fulfillment of the promise made last September. Greece will donate 150,000 vaccines to Ghana and 200,000 to Gabon, according to the same sources.

Bilateral contacts, both with the two countries’ foreign ministers and with other officials, are also expected to focus on promoting bilateral economic relations.

It is noted that a large Greek company is active in the energy sector in Ghana and it is expected that during the visit of the Foreign Minister the possibility of other investments will be considered.

Greece will raise the issue of the need to respect and fully implement international law, including UNCLOS

The above countries, which are coastal, have both ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ghana in 1983 and Gabon in 1998). In this context, according to diplomatic sources, the Greek side is expected to raise the issue of the need for respect and full implementation of international law by all states, including the UN Charter and of course UNCLOS.

At the same time, these two countries, given their geographical location (in the Gulf of Guinea), also play a role in the freedom of navigation and the fight against piracy, which is a major challenge in the region and of course a priority for Greece.

Donation to support a Greek school in Ghana

The visit will also have a humanitarian dimension, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs will visit a Greek school in Ghana, where 160 students attend, and will make a donation to strengthen the school.

He is also expected to donate to Gabon, an organization nominated by the country’s authorities.

Finally, they point out that during the meeting that the Foreign Minister had with his Gabonese counterpart in New York, the latter commented that African countries are open to cooperation with those countries that show relative interest. This comment, they further emphasize, concerns on the one hand both the relationship of European states with Africa as opposed to China, but can also be interpreted in relation to Turkey’s attempt to penetrate sub-Saharan Africa.

Over the past decade, Turkey has significantly increased its presence, starting with the establishment of embassy authorities, which have gone from 11 in Africa as a whole in less than two decades to 43.

Finally, diplomatic sources emphasize that Greece, a country without a colonial past, has the potential to build relations of cooperation and mutual understanding with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Ghana was also the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence in 1957, paving the way for the complete decolonization of the continent in the 1960s and 1970s.