He said France and Ghana had cooperated along various areas and would further deepen the friendship in such areas as economic/trade which must be sustainable, security/terrorism, climate change, culture/language, tourism, educational and health, among others.

The Embassy of France and its partners will continue to strengthen their partnership with Ghana on many points, as part of Ghana’s regional integration, he stated.

Known as “France and Ghana 1957 to 2017: Moving Forward Together”, the French Ambassador said the area of strengthening economic relations, include the French start-ups or the arrival of new French companies.

He noted that cultural exchanges would be strengthened between the two countries. This will involve the French language, adding that efforts were being put in place to further improve the teaching and learning of the French language and this would involve modernising the training of the French teachers.

The Ambassador stressed the importance of strengthening security with new projects in the field of counter-terrorism, and also fight drug trafficking and also in the area of training military personnel.

He was happy to note that  a few days after his inaugural ceremony, Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, attended the Africa-France Summit in Bamako on January 13 and 14.

The Ambassador mentioned that the relationship with Ghana included political efforts, saying all these areas were an indication of the willingness to further collaborate and to prioritise the best courses of action in order to tackle regional and global issues, and orient our development on a more sustainable path.

Ghana has special place

Mr Pujolas said Ghana had always had a special place in France’s relations with the sub-region and that France supported Ghana’s efforts towards a more integrated West Africa. In line with this, he announced that various programmes and events symbolising the nature of the bilateral ties had been planned throughout the year.

The programmes include the foundation-laying ceremony for the embassy’s new premises, the visit of the French Navy Orchestra, known as bagad de Lann-Bihoué, to Accra, the holding of the first France education fair in Ghana and the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Alliance Française in Accra.

These events symbolise the growing interest of French businesses and its people in the country.

He mentioned the inauguration of the direct flight of Air France between Paris and Accra on February 28, which takes on a symbolic character, as part of the programmes.

Mr Pujolas said Air France would offer three weekly flights to Accra, Ghana from Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

“In this way, Air France will increase exchanges between the two countries in the field of trade and investment, culture and education”, he stated.

Air France

The Ambassador addressed a press conference at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, following the arrival of Air France in Accra and said the flight would further boost trade between the two countries, as well as tourism.

He said it would reduce travel time between France and Ghana and also serve as a hub for travelling to other European countries.

The Ambassador reminded  the gathering of  the importance of Ghana as a strategic partner for France in West Africa, stressing its role as an economic hub as well as its political stability based on a perfectly functioning democracy.

French companies, particularly in strategic sectors such as energy, transport infrastructure, modernisation of identification systems and agro-food industries, he noted, were looking at opportunities of trade and investment in Ghana.

He announced that  in sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana positions itself just behind South Africa as the 7th largest receiving country of French investment, with Euro 1.5 billion stock.

The Ambassador noted that the Embassy of France to Ghana had a responsibility for bilateral relations, speaking for the French government and emphasising France’s positions in all fields.

One of its priorities, he said, was to act in favour of peace and Human Rights, while also supporting the initiatives for a worldwide sustainable growth.

The Embassy also assisted and kept track of its nationals in Ghana, he added.

For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of  Air France-KLM Group, Mr Jean-Marc Janaillac, declared: “It comes timely, the very moment Ghana is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence on March 6, 2017,  we are also celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations between France and Ghana.

It will undoubtedly aim at reinforcing the business relations between the two countries as well as promoting tourism, culture and education on both sides, he assured.