India, Ghana to enhance security, defence ties

Accra:Terming international terrorism as a scourge which is a threat to the world, India and Ghana on Tuesday agreed for greater security and defence cooperation to combat terror.
The joint statement issued by the two sides said that while India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism for a long time, Ghana is situated in an increasingly volatile region.
"International terrorism is a scourge, and is a threat to the entire civilised world. The two leaders therefore agreed for greater security and defence cooperation and also called for greater exchanges between the Kofi Annan UN Peacekeeping Centre, Accra, and the Centre for UN Peacekeeping, New Delhi," the joint statement said as President Pranab Mukherjee wrapped up his two-day visit to the African country.
Ghana, situated in West Africa, is facing threats from IS and Boko Haram militants who have established their presence in the neighbouring countries. President Mukherjee discussed a number of issues with his counterpart John Mahama. After wrapping up his two-day visit to Ghana, Mukherjee departed for Ivory Coast for the second leg of his three-nation tour seen as "outreach for Africa".
A number of announcements were made by Mukherjee during his visit to help Ghana in capacity building and human resource development including further grant assistance of USD one million to the India-Ghana Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT which has been set up with Indian assistance of $2.86 million.
India also announced an increase in ITEC slots from 250 to 300 and ICCR full time scholarships from 20 to 40, each year, it said. Ghana government thanked President Mukherjee for India's contribution to its capacity building and human resource development.
"The Government of Ghana conveyed deep appreciation towards India's concessional developmental assistance by way of grants and Lines of Credit. In particular, they placed on record their sincere gratitude for India's support for major socio-economic projects such as Komenda Sugar Plant and Elmina Fish Processing Plant.
"Further cementing the relationship between the two Foreign Ministries, the Government of India also approved a Line of Credit for setting up a Foreign Policy Training Institute," it said.
More than 1,000 government officials from Ghana underwent training in India in the last five years while about 100 students joined full-time academic courses in India on full scholarships during the period.
"The two leaders underlined the need for regular and consistent high-level interaction, and welcomed the setting up of an institutional framework in the form of Joint Commission to periodically review various aspects of the multidimensional relationship. Both sides agreed that mutually convenient dates for the first meeting of the Joint Commission would be decided through diplomatic channels," the joint statement said.
It acknowledged warm relations between the two sides, saying they share a long historical ties that goes back to pre-independence days, which is rooted in the shared global vision of their founding fathers, the mutual goodwill between their peoples, and in the values of democracy, pluralism and inclusiveness. The joint statement said the president's visit is a natural expression of mutual desire of the two countries to further strengthen the warm and close bilateral relationship.