Ghana and Algeria have reached an agreement to enhance cooperation in key sectors, including increase in scholarships for Ghanaian students in artificial intelligence, robotics, and engineering.During a recent bilateral agreement, the two countries pledged to establish a direct air link between Accra and Algiers, launch a strategic partnership in oil and gas, and strengthen cooperation in security and intelligence sharing.This agreement follows an official visit to Algiers, Algeria, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, last week.The minister held high-level meetings with the President of Algeria, Mr Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and Foreign Minister, Mr Ahmed Attaf.Mr Ablakwa announ ced that the two countries also signed a visa waiver agreement as part of efforts to enhance diplomatic and economic cooperation.He described the visit as exceedingly successful, and expressed gratitude to the Algerian Government for its exceptionally warm hospitality and genuine friendship.Mr Ablakwa highlighted the long-standing ties between Ghana and Algeria, noting that Ghana was the first country to patronise the Algerian flag and anthem outside of Algeria in the early 1960s."The visit reaffirmed the enduring relationship between Ghana and Algeria, grounded in a history of post-independence solidarity and mutual support."I convey heartfelt gratitude to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and my brother, Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf, for their exceptionally warm hospitality and genuine friendship," Mr Ablakwa said.He said, Ghana and Algeria would hold the 4th session of the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation in Accra, before the end of 2025.Mr Ablakwa explained that this session aims to identify and implement 'cooperation projects' in areas such as higher education, vocational training, justice, transport, agriculture, health, pharmaceutical industry, agro-industry and production of building materials."The two countries reaffirmed our commitment to multilateralism and to the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and the AU Constitutive Act.We emphasised the need for coordinated African responses to regional and global challenges, as both sides underscored the principle of African solutions to African problems and the necessity of prioritising dialogue, reconciliation, and negotiated settlements in addressing conflicts on the continent," he added.Mr Ablakwa extended an invitation to Mr Attaf to honour a reciprocal visit to Ghana at a mutually agreed-upon date, through diplomatic channels.Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to support the struggle of the Algerian people for independence and to have close relations with the National Liberation Front (FLN) right from the onset of the November 1, 1954 revolution.In March 1945, in Manchester, the Fifth Pan-African Congress, upon the insistence of President Kwame Nkrumah, called, for the first time, the independence of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.The first President of Ghana, Dr Nkrumah, recognized the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic as soon as it was created in 1958 and the anti-colonialist activist, Frantz Fanon was appointed Algeria's Ambassador to Ghana.
Ghana, in turn, opened its diplomatic mission in Algeria in April 1963. BY BERNARD BENGHAN
