Ghana will support Japan’s election to UN body

President John Dramani Mahama has assured Japan of Ghana’s resolve to support Japan’s re-election bid for the non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council in 2015.

The President made the promise yesterday when a delegation from the Japanese House of Representatives paid a courtesy call on him.

The delegation is in the country to identify ways of deepening diplomatic and trade relations between Ghana and Japan.

Japan is currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and is seeking re-election.

At a meeting President Mahama held with the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Shinzo Abe, in Japan during the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) in Japan early this year, President Mahama expressed Ghana’s readiness to support Japan’s bid for re-election as a non-permanent member of the council.

Touching on Ghana-Japan relations, the President noted that ties between the two countries continued to be strengthened.

He said Ghana was ready to leverage Japan’s rich experience in technology, indicating that with Ghana’s natural resources, relations between the two countries would be a win-win venture.

President Mahama said Ghana expected a team from Japan this month to carry out a feasibility study for the construction of a suspension bridge over the Lower Volta in the Eastern Region, noting that the project would be the first to be funded from the activated Japan Yen Loan to Ghana.

He described the outcome of the TICAD V as very fruitful and indicated that Ghana had positioned itself to benefit from the pledges made by Prime Minister Abe at the conference.

The President said Japan’s interest in Ghana was increasing, with many Japanese businesses opening offices in Ghana.

In his remarks, the leader of the delegation, Mr Ichiro Aisawa, who is a member of the Japanese House of Representatives, said Japan valued its relations with Ghana.

Mr Aisawa, who is also the President of the Japan-African Parliamentary Friendship League, said the Japanese House of Representatives would push for the release of the Yen Loan to Ghana.

He said Japan was also willing to increase voluntary work in the areas of agriculture, health, sanitation and infrastructure development in Ghana.

By Musah Yahaya Jafaru, FLAGSTAFF HOUSE
Daily graphic/graphic.com.gh/Ghana