HIGH LEVEL CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF GHANA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF DENMARK, MONDAY 7TH DECEMBER, 2009 IN ACCRA, GHANA

High Level Consultations between the Government of Denmark and the Government of Ghana were held on Monday 7th December, 2009 in Accra. The Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Mr. Kwabena Duffour led the Ghana delegation and Ms. Mette Knudsen, Head of Africa Department of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the Danish delegation.

The delegates discussed issues relating to the overall political and economic situation in Ghana and in the region. The Danish delegation expressed satisfaction with the stable political climate in Ghana; the recent peaceful elections and transfer of power Ghana had again proven that democracy and constitutionalism was well rooted in the country and Ghana is a very positive example for political development in Africa. On the economic side the Danish delegation highlighted Ghana’s progress in the area of growth and development for more than 15 years. Successive governments had demonstrated tenacity with respect to combating poverty.

Both delegations expressed satisfaction with the progress of implementation of Danish-Ghanaian development cooperation in the areas of health, local government service delivery/decentralisation, general budget support, good governance and human rights, and private sector development. The principles of aid effectiveness as outlined in the Accra Agenda for Action was stressed by both delegations. The Ghanaian delegation mentioned that an Aid Policy would be launched very soon and the Danish delegation responded by assuring, that Denmark will work closely with the Ghana Government to secure that all development co-operation between Ghana and her development partners is based on Ghana’s own development agenda and aid policy.

At the end of the consultations Government Agreements covering the following new programmes were signed by the two delegations.

Under the Support to Private Sector Development (SPSD), Denmark will provide 400 million Danish Kroner (approx. GHC 115 million) to support efforts at private sector development over the period January 2010 to December 2014. The overall development objective of this programme is the creation of decent and sustainable jobs. Key partners in the implementation of this programme will be the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, as well as other private sector institutions such as business associations, the ARB Apex Bank, and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa.

The second agreement covers support for the elimination of worst forms of child labour in the cocoa sector. This support amounting to 2.1 million Danish Kroner (approx. 607,000) will run for a twelve month in partnership with the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare’s National Programme on the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa ((NPECLC) remediation project.