Embassy opened
Ghana: Schallenberg signs migration agreement
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) has signed a mobility and migration agreement during a working visit to Ghana. Together with his Ghanaian counterpart Shirley Botchwey, Schallenberg signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday, which not only provides for the readmission of illegal residents, but also for opportunities for legal immigration for qualified workers.
Even if the number of asylum seekers is very low, it is important to take precautions," emphasized Schallenberg in a telephone conversation from Accra. According to the Ministry of the Interior, there were 14 applications for asylum from Ghanaian nationals last year. Referring to India, where there was suddenly an unexpectedly high number of arrivals in 2022, Schallenberg explained: "Caution is the mother of the porcelain box. If the migrants are already at the Austrian border, it is too late to start negotiations." Austria has now concluded such mobility and migration agreements with seven countries and is talking about them with around 20 countries worldwide. The Foreign Minister mentioned Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Kuwait.
New embassy opened
Schallenberg opened the Austrian Embassy in Accra on Friday evening together with Foreign Minister Botchwey. It is the eleventh Austrian embassy in Africa and only the sixth embassy in sub-Saharan Africa, he emphasized. It is important to "have a foot in the door" due to the dynamic economic development of the continent, its demographic development, but also for security reasons, said Schallenberg. Africa is the "only continent on the planet that is getting younger demographically". He emphasized: "The way we shape our relations with Africa will be decisive for prosperity and security in Europe." Ghana is a "place of security and democracy" with similar approaches to multinational issues such as the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine or disarmament.
Austria and Ghana have a long-standing partnership in the security sector: Schallenberg referred to the deployment of blue helmets in the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the joint training of military dog handlers. There is also close cooperation in the area of training through the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Center. The West African coastal state with a good 34 million inhabitants is one of the most stable democracies on the continent. Ghana is an "anchor of stability in a very volatile region". Developments in the neighbouring "coup belt" of the Sahel region are increasingly affecting the coastal states on the Gulf of Guinea, be it in the area of refugees and illegal migration, terrorism or organized crime.
Economic potential
Schallenberg, who also had a meeting with President Nana Akufo-Addo, was accompanied by a business delegation consisting of ten companies. With its young population and the government's extensive infrastructure projects, Ghana offers enormous potential for Austrian companies, for example in the areas of energy generation, road construction and waste management. The Styrian environmental technology specialist FIMA Industries, for example, secured a 20 million euro contract with the waste disposal company ZOOMLION Ghana Limited. Specifically, the contract involves the construction and commissioning of two modern treatment plants for household waste in Nigeria, which are to be completed over the next twelve months. Representatives from the cultural sector were also part of the Austrian delegation. They met the artist Amoako Boafo, who will be presenting his first museum exhibition in Europe at the Lower Belvedere from October 25.
Schallenberg had arrived in Ghana on Thursday. He reported that he was able to complete the program "without any problems". In terms of health, "everything is okay again". The 55-year-old Schallenberg had recently been a little under the weather following a stay in hospital due to pneumonia. After the trip to Ghana, a visit to the UN General Assembly in New York is on the agenda towards the end of September, just before the National Council elections.
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