BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER CALLS FOR CLOSER LINKS (SPREAD)

THE British High Commissioner in Accra, Dr Nicholas Westcott, has called for closer links and co-operation between Ghana and the United Kingdom for the mutual benefit of their peoples.
He said such links and co-operation could create a forum for sharing ideas and experiences in the socio-economic and political spheres to promote better understanding between the two countries and tackle their challenges more effectively.
Dr Westcott made the call when he delivered the first in the University of Cape Coast (UCC) Occasional Lecture Series in Cape Coast last Tuesday. His topic was, “Ghana and Britain: Parallel histories, converging futures”.
He traced the political history of the UK, which he described as often chequered, bumpy and turbulent, and said such experiences offered a great opportunity for both countries to learn from each other.
He mentioned the problems associated with drugs, crime, climate change, migration, among others, as some of the areas which needed to be tackled through shared experiences and approach in the interest of their peoples.
He said the current international financial crunch which was impacting negatively on the economies of both developed and developing countries called for a common approach to solutions.
He said closer links could also be established between universities in the UK and the UCC on exchange programme basis to promote education in both countries.
Commenting on the UK’s aid to its partners, he said aid was provided for countries as stimulants for economic growth based on the priorities of the beneficiaries without any conditions.
The High Commissioner said aid to partners was also geared towards weaning recipients from their over-reliance on donor support.
He commended Ghanaians for their high sense of responsibility and capability to rise to the occasion in times of seeming crisis and cited the successful conduct of the December elections as a demonstration of that resolve.
The Vice-Chancellor of the UCC, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, who chaired the function, advocated democracy that would go beyond the ballot box to make governments more functional to promote peace and serve the needs of the people.