Foreign relations of Ghana

The foreign relations of Ghana are controlled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana. Ghana is active in the United Nations and many of its specialised agencies, the World Trade Organization, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States. Ghana generally follows the consensus of the Non-aligned Movement and the OAU on economic and political issues not directly affecting its own interests. Ghana has been extremely active in international peacekeeping activities under UN auspices in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Rwanda, and the Balkans, in addition to an eight-year sub-regional initiative with its ECOWAS partners to develop and then enforce a cease-fire in Liberia. Ghana is also a member of the International Criminal Court.

Guiding principles and objectives

Ghana's foreign policy since independence has been characterised by a commitment to the principles and ideals of non-alignment and Pan-Africanism as first enunciated by Kwame Nkrumah in the early 1960s. For Nkrumah, non-alignment meant complete independence from the policies and alliances of both East and West and support for a worldwide union of so-called non-aligned nations as a counter to both East and West power blocs. Pan-Africanism, by contrast, was a specifically African policy that envisioned the independence of Africa from Western colonialism and the eventual economic and political unity of the African continent.<sup>[1]</sup>

The PNDC, like most of its predecessors, made serious and consistent attempts at the practical application of these ideals and principles, and its successor, the NDC government, promises to follow in the PNDC's footsteps. Under the NDC, Ghana remains committed to the principle of non-alignment in world politics. Ghana is also opposed to interference in the internal affairs of both small and large countries. This is a departure from Nkrumah's foreign policy approach; Nkrumah was frequently accused of subverting African regimes, such as Togo and Ivory Coast, which he considered ideologically conservative. The NDC government, like the PNDC before it, believes in the principle of self-determination, including the right to political independence and the right of people to pursue their economic and social development free from external interference. Another feature of NDC rule carried over from the PNDC era is faithfulness to what a leading scholar of Africa has called "one of the most successful neoclassical economic reform efforts supported by the IMF and the World Bank."

thumb|left|250px|Kwame Nkrumah and his family meeting Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser during the 1965 OAU Summit in Accra.]]

The broad objectives of Ghana's foreign policy thus include maintaining friendly relations and cooperation with all countries that desire such cooperation, irrespective of ideological considerations, on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Africa and its liberation and unity are naturally the cornerstones of Ghana's foreign policy. As a founding member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), NDC policy is to adhere faithfully to the OAU Charter.

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Burkina Faso has an embassy in Accra.
Ghana has an embassy in Ouagadougou.

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|||1958||

Guinea has an embassy in Accra, which was opened in 1958.
Ghana has an embassy in Conakry which is also accredited to Guinea-Bissau.

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|||15 March 1961||See Ivory Coast–Ghana relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 15 March 1961.

Ghana has an embassy in Abidjan.
Ivory Coast has an embassy in Accra.

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|||16 December 1963||See Ghana–Kenya relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 16 December 1963.

Ghana has a high commission in Nairobi.
Kenya has a high commission in Accra.

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|||1 October 1960||See Ghana–Nigeria relations

Ghana set up a commission in 1959 when Nigeria was still a dependent territory. This was elevated to High Commission status on the attainment of Nigeria's independence on 1 October 1960

Despite close cultural ties, diplomatic relations between the two countries have in many instances been volatile. After the takeover in November 1993 by General Sani Abacha as the new Nigerian head of state, Ghana and Nigeria continued to consult on economic, political, and security issues affecting the two countries and West Africa as a whole. Between early August 1994 when Rawlings became ECOWAS chairman and the end of the following October, the Ghanaian president visited Nigeria three times to discuss the peace process in Liberia and measures to restore democracy in that country.

right|thumb|240px|High Commission of Ghana in [[Pretoria]]

Ghana has a high commission in Pretoria.
South Africa has a high commission in Accra.

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|||21 January 1963||See Ghana–Togo relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 21 January 1963.

The strains in Ghana-Togo relations stretch back to pre-independence days. After 1918, following the defeat of Germany, the League of Nations divided the German colony of Togoland from north to south, a decision that divided the Ewe people among the Gold Coast, British Togoland, and French Togoland. After 1945, the United Nations took over the Togoland mandates. During the 1950s, when the independence of Ghana was in sight, demands grew for a separate Ewe state, an idea that Kwame Nkrumah, leader of the Gold Coast independence movement, opposed. Following a UN plebiscite in May 1956, in which a majority of the Ewe voted for union with Ghana, British Togoland became part of the Gold Coast. After Togolese independence in 1960, relations between Togo and Ghana deteriorated, aggravated by political differences and incidents such as smuggling across their common border. At times, relations have verged on open aggression.

Ghana and Colombia's diplomatic relations dated back to 1988 but it remained dormant until July 2013 when Colombia opened its embassy in Accra. Colombia helps Ghana by providing assistance on building capacity of the Ghana Police Service, Immigration Service and the Narcotics Control Board on cybersecurity and drug trafficking.

Colombia has an embassy in Accra.
Ghana is accredited to Colombia from its embassy in Brasília, Brazil.

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|||8 May 1968||See Ghana–Jamaica relations

Ghana is accredited to Jamaica from its embassy in Havana, Cuba.
Jamaica is accredited to Ghana from its high commission in Abuja, Nigeria.

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|||8 August 1961||See Ghana–Mexico relations

Ghana and Mexico established diplomatic relations on 8 August 1961. Mexico re-opened its embassy in Ghana in 2013.

Ghana is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.
Mexico has an embassy in Accra.

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|||23 June 1987||

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 23 June 1987

Ghana is accredited to Peru from its embassy in Brasília, Brazil.
Peru has an embassy in Accra.

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|||1 April 1977|| See: Ghana-Suriname relations

Accra currently hosts the only Surinamese embassy in Africa.

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|||6 March 1957||See Ghana–United States relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 6 March 1957

The United States is among Ghana's trading partners. The Office of the President of Ghana worked closely with the U.S. Embassy in Accra to establish an American Chamber of Commerce to continue to develop closer economic ties in the private sector. Major U.S. companies operating in the country include ACS, CMS Energy, Coca-Cola, S.C. Johnson, Ralston Purina, Star-Kist, A.H. Robins, Sterling, Pfizer, IBM, 3M, Motorola, Stewart & Stevenson, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and National Cash Register (NCR). Several U.S. firms recently made or are considering investments in Ghana, primarily in gold mining, wood products, and petroleum. U.S. mining giant Newmont entered Ghana's mining sector in 2004 and intends to invest up to $1 billion. In late 1997, Nuevo Petroleum concluded an oil exploration agreement accounting for one of Ghana's offshore mineral rights zones. Several other U.S. oil companies also are engaged in offshore exploration.

Ghana has an embassy in Washington, D.C., and a consulate-general in New York City.
United States has an embassy in Accra.

Asia

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! style="width:15%;"| Country

! style="width:12%;"| Formal Relations Began

!Notes

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|||19 July 1974||See Bangladesh–Ghana relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 19 July 1974 when Bangladesh High Commissioner to Ghana presented his credentials to the Head of State Colonel I. K. Acheampong.

Bangladesh is accredited to Ghana from its high commission in Abuja, Nigeria.
Ghana is accredited to Bangladesh from its high commission in New Delhi, India.

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|||5 July 1960||See China–Ghana relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 5 July 1960.

Ghana has a high commission in New Delhi.
India has a high commission in Accra.

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|||6 March 1957, severed 28 October 1973, restored 9 August 1994||See Ghana–Israel relations

Ghana has an embassy in Tel Aviv.
Israel has an embassy in Accra.

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|||5 December 1966||See Ghana–Malaysia relations

Ghana has a high commission in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia has a high commission in Accra.

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|||1958||

Pakistan and Ghana enjoy amicable and cordial relations. There has been historical support extended by Pakistan to the African states particularly OIC member states in which Ghana has significant importance. Despite this, there has been a low level of bilateral trade between the two countries. The volume of bilateral trade during 2011 was just $19 million.

Ghana is accredited to Pakistan from its embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan has a high commission in Accra.

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|||29 November 1988||See Ghana–Palestine relations

Palestine has an embassy in Accra.

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|||||See Ghana–Turkey relations

Ghana has an embassy in Ankara.
Turkey has an embassy in Accra.

Ghana has an embassy in Madrid.
Spain has an embassy in Accra.

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|||6 March 1957||See Ghana–United Kingdom relations

thumb|right|[[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond with Ghanaian Hanna Tetteh in London, May 2015.]]

Ghana established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 6 March 1957.

Ghana maintains a high commission in London.
The United Kingdom is accredited to Ghana through its high commission in Accra.

The UK governed Ghana from 1821 to 1957, when Ghana achieved full independence.

Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic Co-operation Pact, the Commonwealth, the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization. Bilaterally the two countries have a Development Partnership, an Interim Trade Partnership Agreement, a High Level Prosperity Partnership, and an Investment Agreement.

Ghana and the Commonwealth of Nations

thumb|right|250px|Recipient of the 2008 [[Chatham House Prize and 10th President of Ghana John Kufuor with Prince Philip, the Husband of the Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II.]]

Ghana has been a member state of the Commonwealth since independence in 1957, firstly as a Dominion, then as a republic in the Commonwealth of Nations.

Foreign relations of Ghana

Guiding principles and objectives

Asia

Ghana and the Commonwealth of Nations

See also

References

External links