• President Nana announced the government’s acceptance to join the Atlantic Cooperation as a founding member. 

• The announcement was during the US vice president’s visit to Ghana, who is on a trip to strengthen US-Africa ties.

On Monday, during the State banquet in honor of the visiting United States Vice President, Kamala Harris at the Jubilee House, Accra, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo declared Ghana’s acceptance of the invitation of the U.S. to join the Atlantic Cooperation as a founding member. The government’s decision on the cooperation was of the opinion that such collaboration would offer a forum for the development of shared approaches to issues relating to the Atlantic Ocean and the building on of shared capabilities and experiences for the benefit of the Atlantic Ocean region.

Atlantic Cooperation is an initiative of the United States that aims to unite all coastal countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean to explore opportunities to achieve economic, environmental, scientific, and marine governance goals across the Atlantic in compliance with international laws. 

The cooperation aspires to maintain a prosperous, open, peaceful, and cooperative Atlantic region by leveraging shared resources, cutting-edge technologies, and best practices created by Atlantic states to protect the water body as a healthy, sustainable, and resilient resource for future generations.

President Nana said that “as a coastal country bordering the Atlantic Ocean, Ghana recognizes that no government alone can solve the cross-boundary challenges in the Atlantic Ocean ranging from maritime security to environmental degradation. Therefore, Ghana welcomes and commits to exploring the numerous opportunities offered by the laudable initiative on Atlantic cooperation”.

Aside from the United States and Ghana, other community members include Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ireland, Mauritania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Senegal, Spain, and the U.K. 

The President expressed his satisfaction that more US businesses were choosing to invest in Ghana on the economic front and promised that his administration would keep fostering and maintaining an environment that would ensure the security of investments and favorable returns. He was also pleased that the country’s relations with the United States “are now focused on an expansion in trade and investment cooperation” because the country’s economy is now centered on value-addition.

On the part of the US Vice president, Kamala Harris said that the Biden administration was committed to strengthening the ties that bound the two nations and their people. She said, “these ties are a source of strength and pride for both our countries”.

In an effort to strengthen these ties between the United States and Africa, Vice President Kamala Harris is on a week-long trip to Africa that will take her to Tanzania and Zambia.