Ghana intends to tap into Israel’s expertise in agriculture in order to boost production and create more jobs in the sector, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has said.
According to him, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government's promise to construct one dam in every village is something the Israelis have been able to do, irrespective of their proximity to the Sahara desert and will, therefore, be a step in the right direction to study the Israeli approach in order to fulfil the campaign promise made to Ghanaians.
The Suame legislator made this known when the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Ami Mehl, paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, on Tuesday January 17.
“The government of the day is talking about a transformational development agenda. We’ve spoken about One-Village-One-Dam, One-District-One-Factory and really the base is developing agriculture, but so far as agricultural development is concerned, Ghana has a lot to learn from Israel, especially given the fact that this one village one dam concept is being spoken about in a particular zone – the savannah zone – yet Israel is a country that has conquered the desert. So we think that there is a lot that we could share with Israel in having these promises or pledges materialise,” he stated.
He added that Ghana and Israel are alike in the geopolitics of the world. “Israel [in the past] provided some assistance to Ghana in the field of agriculture and also a very significant contribution they provided was in the construction of the Kpong dam. Thereafter, there’s been some collaboration in many areas. Israel as you do know is the oasis of peace in the Middle East, just like Ghana has been in the sub region. So one could say that in the geopolitics of the international world, Ghana and Israel share a lot of similarities…” he expressed.
He noted that another area Ghana and Israel shared similarities was in the area of religion and, therefore, it would not be out of place to foster and deepen bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Israeli ambassador’s visit was to introduce himself to Prof Mike Oquaye and also congratulate him on his elevation to the position of Speaker.
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