Counting the number of official foreign travels of President Kufuor, the context and the content of those visits after some 20 months in office, Foreign minister Hackman Owusu-Agyeman (MP)is convinced that even though the NPP government is of the Danquah -Busia ilk, President Kufuor has done more to advance the course of Nkrumaism than any other leader. Answering questions from the Network Herald on the government’s foreign policy direction, minister Owusu-Agyeman explained that the President’s commitment to regional integration and peace in the world is evidence of his commitment to the ideologies of the first president of Ghana.
What the Kufuor administration has set out to do therefore is immediately put together policies that accentuate these beliefs.
The Foreign Minister was of the opinion that the previous administration did not do enough to promote African Unity. “You couldn’t talk about African Union when you are fighting with your neighbours. At best the relation between Ghana and Togo could be described as frosted. When you are warm towards your neighbours that is when you can talk of putting together 10 or 20 countries.”
He said though the implementation of a country’s foreign policy is a gradual process that does not catch the eye of anybody, the NPP administration has made tremendous strides in the areas of foreign policy. “I believe the country’s image has been enhanced in the last 20 months”, he said.
He cited what he described as the pragmatic steps government has initiated on the international scene, which according to him, has won the country many accolades suggesting that the many invitations to the President from the outside world is a tacit approval of the country’s relation with the outside world.
On the specific achievements of the foreign ministry during his tenure, the minister recounted the rather fragile relationship with our immediate neighbours before the coming into office of the Kufuor administration. He said the ministry has been promoting good neighbourliness among countries in the sub-region by diffusing tension between Ghana Burkina Faso, la Cote d’Ivoire and Togo, the election of Dr. Ibn Chambas as executive secretary of ECOWAS and the decision of the government to open a mission in Morocco. Government is also vigorously supporting the establishment of the African Union.
He attributed the success chalked by Ghana on the international scene to its principled stand on issues describing Ghana’s position on the Middle East crisis or instance as a neutral position that encourages co-existence rather than domination or extinction. On ECOWAS, he regretted that the organization has not been as effective as it should have been.”Various protocols were signed but their implementation left much to be desired” he remarked. The Ministry is therefore working at giving it a new impetus, which is why government campaigned for the nomination of Dr. Chambas as the Executive Secretary of the organization.
Mr. Owusu Agyeman disagreed with suggestions that the Non Aligned Movement has outlived its usefulness but shared the view that there was the need for the Movement to re-orient itself to make it more relevant to the needs of the changing world. On the rationale behind Ghana’s intention to establish a mission in Morocco, the Foreign Minister contended that it would not affect relation with Western Sahara. “Two issues can be mutually exclusive”. In fact to him this is no news since the country had a mission in Morocco during the first Republic.
