The High Commissioner, Dr Joseph Agoe paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of Parliament of Australia, the Honourable Tony Smith following a message of congratulations the Speaker conveyed to Dr Agoe on the presentation of his letters of credence to the Governor-General.

During the meeting, the High Commissioner congratulated Honourable Tony Smith on his election to the High Officer of Speaker of Parliament, being the first Speaker to be elected unopposed on three occasions, since Frederick Holder, the inaugural holder of the position.

Discussions between the High Commissioner and the Speaker centred on Ghana -Australia Relations, both at the bilateral and multilateral levels.

At the bilateral level, deliberations included working together to further enhance collaboration in the areas of parliamentary cooperation, grants for small businesses (SME), technology exchange/partnerships, health, mining, Agrobusiness and knowledge sharing programmes.

The High Commissioner emphasised the need for stronger collaboration in the education sector in which Australia has comparative advantage, particularly in the field of science and technology. The High Commissioner also highlighted the need for improved trade and economic relations between the two countries.

In his response, the Speaker acknowledged the relations between Ghana and Australia and the need to deepen the existing ties in all the areas mentioned.

The Speaker indicated that the Mineral Council of Australia, based in Canberra and representing all the Mineral Companies in Australia is one of the organisations the High Commissioner would need to collaborate with.

The meeting ended with an invitation from the Speaker to the High Commissioner to attend Parliamentary sittings where Head of Missions could ask questions and be recognised by the House. He also promised to link up with his Ghanaian counterpart to map out areas for mutual parliamentary cooperation.