The long-standing diplomatic and bilateral ties between the Republic of Ghana and Ukraine have been bolstered with the opening of the Embassy of Ukraine in Accra.

Ghana and Ukraine have a rich history dating back to August 1992, shortly after Ukraine gained independence.

The first president of independent Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, visited Ukraine twice when it was part of the former USSR.

Over the years, bilateral relations between Ghana and the Eastern European country have primarily focused on political cooperation, laying a foundation for mutual understanding and collaboration.

The bilateral relations between the two countries have further seen significant milestones, including the working visit to Ghana by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Mr Dmytro Kuleba in October 2022.

It culminated in the signing of agreements on diplomatic staff training and cooperation between exporters and investors, and avenues for cooperation in education, defense, agriculture, trade, and multilateral matters.

Before Russian full-scale military aggression in February 2022, Ukraine trade volume with Ghana reached more than 300 million USD.

The Ukraine diplomatic mission and the opening of the Ukrainian Embassy in Ghana will, among others, perform a full range of functions, including developing political contacts, strengthening economic and people-to-people ties and providing consular services to Ukrainians and Ghanaians.

Dr Maksym Subh, Special Envoy of Ukraine to the Middle East and Africa, who commissioned the Embassy in Cantonment on Friday with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, said opening of the embassy in Accra very much reflected on its willingness to develop bilateral contacts at all levels between Ukraine and Ghana.

The Diplomatic Corps, officials of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, were at the official opening and reception.

He said Ghana was not only a traditional friend with whom Ukraine had established diplomatic relations with since 1992, it was a country with which Ukraine had achieved extraordinary cooperation in the political and trade spheres as well as at international forums, and that the dynamics of the relations had grown exponentially especially in the last two years.

Dr Subh said with Ghana making impressive achievements towards attaining sustainable development with tremendous potential to be “the trade gateway of Africa”, Ukraine was ready to work with its Ghanian partners to create an enabling business environment that would build upon Ghana’s stable economic and political foundation and create jobs for citizens of both countries.

The Special Envoy of Ukraine to the Middle East and Africa said Ukraine looked forward to seizing every opportunity that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement could provide for expanding trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and all African states.

He said there was still significant untapped potential for its further expansion and diversification and that Ukraine manufacturers and exporters were ready to offer Ghana high quality goods and services at very competitive costs.

He noted that Ukraine in the past few years had worked to prepare for the opening of a land market with several important draft laws already adopted, and that digital technologies, such as electronic land (e-land) registries and electronic services (e-services) continued to play an important role in the process.

Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, said Ghana continued to demonstrate its unwavering support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including joining UN General Assembly Resolutions to condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

“Our participation in the online International Crimea Platform Summit on 23rd August 2022 underscores our solidarity with Ukraine in addressing the ongoing occupation of Crimea,” he stated.

The Deputy Minister said trade relations between Ghana and Ukraine had been rejuvenated, particularly with the visit of a Ukrainian trade delegation in April 2018 where areas, including agriculture, transportation, industrial equipment, and telecommunications were discussed, paving the way for enhanced economic collaboration.

He noted that economic and trade relations between Ghana and Ukraine had shown promising signs, with Ghana exporting significant commodities such as manganese, aluminium ore, and cocoa powder to Ukraine.

Conversely, Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong said, Ukraine had supplied Ghana with hot-rolled iron bars, raw iron bars, and cold-rolled iron, adding that those exchanges laid a foundation for deeper economic cooperation between the countries.

“However, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has disrupted these trade dynamics, impeding progress towards meaningful strategic outcomes. Despite these challenges, Ghana remains committed to exploring avenues for enhancing bilateral relations once stability is restored in the region,” he assured.