Thursday, May 31, 2007

One thing even the most ardent and virulent critics of Ghana’s President Kufuor cannot deny is his very proactive and highly successful foreign policy.

At a gallop, he took to the world when he was sworn into office on January 7 2001; he has not relented since. When he leaves office in January 2009, he would bequeath the nation one of the most unassailable standings in the international community – perhaps, the greatest since independence 50 years ago.

This, the president has achieved not through podium thumping speeches or radical posturing on the world scene, but through quiet and get-to-know you diplomacy. Never in the post independence history of Ghana, has a leader been so effective in foreign policy issues – and it is paying off!

The Ghanaian leader is much sought after internationally as one of the more accessible African leaders who can be done business with in all areas of modern governance and international relations. It is not only in the West that he is held in high esteem but amongst his peers on the African continent he is regarded as one of the more stable hands and nerves to deal with.

The past week has seen him in a punishing schedule visiting four countries in one week, but even before the jet-lag has worn off, he leaves for the G8 Summit this weekend in Germany as a guest of the G8 leaders.

President Kufuor has grown into his office and role remarkably, exuding not only the confidence, but also the authority of an international statesman in good standing among his peers.

His seven-day international assignment took him to Brussels, at the invitation of EU President Manuel Barossa; Addis Ababa, as AU Chairman to witness the launch of the AU passport and to lay the foundation stone for a new AU Secretariat; Cairo on a state visit and Abuja for the inauguration of Nigerian President Alhaji Musa Yar’Adu’a.

In all these capitals many other bilateral and multilateral issues were dealt with.

In Brussels, at a mini press conference, the EU president described his guest as “one of the most respected leaders in Africa – a statesman of stature” and not only that but also an “important regional player” The Ghanaian president’s presence at the EU headquarters, said Barossa was meant to cement the “special relationship with Africa” which the EU under its new president is forging.

Africa would be among the top items on the EU’s agenda at next months G8 meeting in Germany hence the Ghanaian president’s shuttle European diplomacy. The EU, said Barossa, would work together with Africa to “drive back hunger, poverty and disease.”

President Kufuor told his EU host that his continent of Africa had so far been the “Cinderella of the world” and the EU should show clearly its commitment to stand by and with Africa in practical ways to move the “special relationship” forward. He referred a number of times to “mutual respect” and “win-win” relationship. That way, he declared, Africa could partner with others “into the global village.”

Both Ghana and the EU celebrated their 50th anniversaries this year and on whether Ghana has moved in tandem with the EU in these 50 years, the Ghanaian president said more or less because Ghana has been able to live up to international expectations, especially in contemporary times without waiting from external prodding.

The country he said has been upholding the values of human rights, fighting corruption, human-centered development and the rule of law. In all of these, he said, the EU “has been helping”

After his meeting with EU President Barossa, President Kufuor addressed a ministerial conference of the African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) group of nations, which Ghana was participating in. See report on page 4. He called on the AU office in Brussels and in an on the run meeting discussed the forthcoming AU summit in Accra.

On the trot, he was off to the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, where as AU Chairman, he met with Professor Alfa Konare, the current AU president, to put finishing touches on the agenda for the next AU summit which Ghana is hosting.

It was Africa Union Day, a holiday in Ghana and the president used the occasion to observe the day and also witness the launching of the AU passport and the launching of the VISAT conferencing facility introduced by the AU Secretariat.

Together with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, AU president and the Chinese Deputy Minister of Trade, he laid the foundation stone for an extension to the AU Headquarters being funded by the Chinese Government.

Behind closed doors, he held bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, which as AU Chairman, was said to have revolved around Darfur and Somalia, not leaving out the agenda for the upcoming AU Summit in Ghana in July.

The President was off again, this time on a state visit to Egypt, his second time to set foot on that ancient civilization. His first was over 30 years ago when he was a Deputy Foreign Minister.

In Cairo, he received the full honours due his high office and stayed in one of the opulent national palaces dotted around the country. After his meeting with President Mubarak, he had further meetings with Dr. Ahmed Nazif, Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

In a rare interaction, he became the first AU Chairman to meet with the Arab League. The League’s Secretary General, Mr. Amre Moussa held closed door meetings with his guest after which there was an open interaction with the envoys of the Arab countries accredited to the League.

President Kufuor told the League about the AU’s “sympathy” to the Leagues causes and the support for just and lasting peace in the Mid East, which he said was necessary for global stability and prosperity. He formally extended an invitation to Mr. Amre Moussa to attend the AU Summit in Accra.

In a touching gesture, the President broke with the tedium of diplomacy and visited Madam Fathia Nkrumah, the ailing wife of Ghana’s first president in hospital. This gesture was not lost on the former First Lady’s family, which expressed much gratitude for what they said the government has been doing for Madam Fathia.

There were further encounters with leading captains of Egypt’s business community and government ministers before flying off to Abuja, Nigeria, for the inauguration of President Musa Yar Adu’a.

For a reporter following a president, or for that matter any high official or even a celebrity on tour, the temptation may be to just report the “he said” aspect of encounters and just leave it there. That would be fair enough, but could leave out certain vital clues of relationships.

With Manuel Barossa, it was a body language of co-equals. The EU President was visibly genuine in his respect for the Ghanaian leader, sometimes even bordering on the effusive. The Ghanaian president was equally relaxed, sometimes coming across as though he was the host! It was a meeting in which the body language spoke of a new beginning for Europe and Africa.

Wherever President Kufuor set foot on this his 7-day, four nation visit, it was palpable: he is held in high esteem and is expected to succeed – or at least show the way – in this new African Millennium.

Ghana, as Mr. Barossa put it, is on the right path and expected to be the first African nation to achieve some crucial aspects of the UN Millennium Development Goals – a forecast, that no doubt would inch Ghana closer to her desired goal of mid income status by 2015.

No comments: