Government has done well on foreign policy decisions - Irbard Ibrahim

An International Relations Expert, Irbard Ibrahim, has scored the Government high on its foreign policy decisions during its first year in office, which he believed would impact positively on the country’s Foreign Direct Investments in the near future.

"The Government’s foreign policy was manifested with the visits of many foreign dignitaries in 2017, which included prime ministers, presidents and royal majesties culminating in the signing of many economic agreements and Memorandum of Understanding that would improve the economy." He said.

He lauded the President for taking time off his heavy schedule to visit some neighbouring countries including Togo, La Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria to renew the existing bilateral relations between Ghana and those countries.

Mr Ibrahim made the remarks in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra to express his thoughts on the Government’s first year in office.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his vice Dr Mahamudu Bawumia were sworn into office on January 7, 2017, after their electoral victory in 2016 polls, and Sunday, January 7, 2018, marked exactly one year in office.

The International Relations Expert noted that “the Ghana beyond aid” mantra was catching well with the international community and urged the government to implement policies that would enforce and drive that agenda so that the ordinary Ghanaian would feel the impact.

Commenting on government’s decision to contribute troops to The Gambia during that country’s political upheaval, Mr Ibrahim said Ghana being a peace activist within the ECOWAS Sub-region took the right decision to help restore peace in that country.

However, he said, the use of force in ousting any government did not imbue confidence in the West African Sub-region because it went contrary to the ECOWAS Charter, saying; “What if we have the same problem in a much bigger country like La Cote d’Ivoire or Nigeria or Ghana then there would be bloodshed”.

Mr. Ibrahim said there should always be a peaceful transition of political power from one political party to another without the use of threat of force because in the long term it would not serve the security interest of the Sub-region.

On Ghana supporting United Nations resolution against the moving of the Israeli’s capital from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, Mr. Ibrahim said the Israeli-Palestinian political stand-off was a global security issue, therefore there was the need to resolve it without resorting to militancy.

Mr Ibrahim said Ghana’s position on the matter had always been to support a two-state solution by recognising the State of Israel living side by side with an independent Palestinian State, therefore anything that runs contrary to this roadmap, the Government of Ghana would vote against it at any point in time.

Commenting on the President’s response to gay rights, he said, the government should come again to clarify its stand on the matter, saying; “Ghanaians would resist any overtures to legalise homosexuality because it is against the customs and norms of the people of Ghana”.

While applauding the government on its foreign policy, Mr. Ibrahim chastised the government for failing to exert its authority to control political vigilantism, which was orchestrated by members of the Invincible Forces, a group affiliated to the ruling party.

He said the inertia by the government to stamp out political vigilantism cast Ghana in the bad light on the international community and urged the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led government to use the power at its disposal to maintain law and order in the country.