He said the move was in response to the Ghana government’s automotive development policy aimed at making Ghana a fully integrated and competitive industrial hub for the automotive industry in the sub-region.

In a courtesy call he paid on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, Wednesday (October 13), Mr Jin-Pyo said: “I hope that all goes well with these projects and I would like to ask for your kind support.”

“I hope that based on what we have achieved in our cooperation, we can continue to encourage Korean companies to make investments and have bilateral trade with Ghanaian counterparts.

“I also hope Korean and Ghanaian governments would work together more closely to create an environment conducive for more Korean companies to make investments because Korean companies have extensive experience in the fields that serve the interests of Ghana’s economic development,” he said.

The closed-door meeting, which took place on the margins of the ongoing 145th Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in Kigali, was used to discuss many mutually beneficial issues that bothered on improving bilateral relations, maritime security, expansion of Ghana oil refinery capacity, Ghana-Korean Parliamentary Friendship Group, among others.

The Ghanaian delegation at the meeting was the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu; the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu; the Clerk-to-Parliament, Cyril Kwabena Nsiah; the Head of the Speaker’s Secretariat, Richard Acheampong, and the Director of Protocol at Parliament, Sheba Osei.

The Korean delegation included three members of the Korean National Assembly, Kim Tae-nyeon, Jin Sun-mee and Yu Eui-dong.

Increased assistance

Mr Jin-Pyo noted that Korea and Ghana established formal diplomatic relations 45 years ago and in many different ways, Ghana had become its key partner in West Africa.

He said Ghana had remained Korea’s priority for official aid assistance partner and that his country had recently “sharply increased the size of our economic development cooperation plan for Ghana”.

“Our inter-parliamentary exchanges have also increased and I hope today’s meeting can serve as another impetus for facilitating active exchanges between our two parliaments,” he said.

Indicating that he recently approved the formation of the Korea-Ghana Parliamentary Friendship Group at the Korea National Assembly, Mr Kim Jin-Pyo expressed hope that Mr Bagbin would also approve the friendship group between the two countries.

Speed boats

He expressed his appreciation for the support Ghana had provided in the prevention of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea.

“For the sake of strengthening maritime security in Ghana, Korea is planning to transfer speed boats to Ghana and I hope that this can be done in swiftly,” he said.

He was optimistic that strong cooperation between the two countries would help to improve the digitalisation of Ghana’s public services and high-speed broad internet connectivity.

He expressed appreciation for the stable democracy Ghana had enjoyed over the years and also acknowledged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s Chairmanship of ECOWAS, which had contributed to stable democracy and economic integration in the region.

“I commended the Speaker of Parliament for dedicating himself to the advancement of democracy in Ghana for the past 30 years and the efforts he has made to enhance the ties between Korea and Ghana,” he added.

A true friend

Mr Bagbin noted that the Ghana-Korea Parliamentary Friendship Group was already in existence and gave an assurance that “I will inaugurate the group when we go back to Ghana.”

In his view, Korea had been a true friend of Ghana for 45 years, paving the way for many private Korean companies to operate in Ghana.

“Korea and its companies, such as Samsung, are well-known household names and, therefore, you can be assured that we will definitely be supportive of all the efforts that will initiate from you (Kim Jin-Pyo) and your government.

“We are ready to support you to achieve the good that we all want and we will work together,” he said
Majority and Minority Leaders

Contributing to the discussion, both Messrs Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and Iddrisu commended Korea for its development assistance and asked Korean investors to take advantage of the huge investment opportunities in Ghana.

 Kim Jin-Pyo, speaker of the Korean National Assembly