Prime Minister Modi concludes Historic Ghana Visit, next stop Trinidad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a historic visit to Ghana, marking the first Indian Prime Ministerial visit in over 30 years.

During his stay, he engaged in fruitful discussions with President John Mahama, focusing on enhancing bilateral ties in critical minerals, defence, and energy.

PM Modi was honored with Ghana's highest civilian award before departing for Trinidad & Tobago.

Accra [Ghana], July 3 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed from Ghana's capital city of Accra after concluding the first leg of his five-nation tour on Thursday. He will now be travelling to Trinidad & Tobago for the second leg of his tour on an official visit from July 3 to July 4. This was the first time that PM Modi visited the West African nation and the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Ghana in over 30 years. Prior to his departure, the Prime Minister interacted with the Indian diaspora there, receiving a warm welcome from the members of the community.

During the visit, the Prime Minister held bilateral talks with the President of Ghana, John Mahama, to review the strong partnership and discuss further avenues to enhance it through economic, energy, and defence collaboration and development cooperation. During his meeting with Ghanaian President, PM Modi elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Partnership, emphasising "immense scope" in areas of critical minerals, defence, maritime security and energy.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, "India and Ghana also see immense scope in working closely in areas such as critical minerals, defence, maritime security and energy. Enhancing cultural linkages was also talked about." PM Modi described his talks with John Mahama as "extremely fruitful" and informed that the discussions were held on improving trade and economic linkages.

"We discussed ways to improve trade and economic linkages. Cooperation in FinTech, skill development, healthcare and other such sectors were also deliberated upon," PM Modi further stated. PM Modi was also conferred with "The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana", the country's highest civilian honour, by President John Mahama. PM Modi thanked Ghana's President for the honour and called it a "matter of immense pride".

"It is a matter of great pride and honour for me to be conferred with Ghana's national award, The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana, by the President. I express my heartfelt gratitude to President Mahama ji, the Government of Ghana and the people of Ghana. I humbly accept this honour on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians," PM Modi said. He said he dedicated the award to the youth of both countries.

"I dedicate this award to the aspirations of our youth, their bright future, our rich cultural diversity and traditions and the historic ties between India and Ghana," he added. He also addressed the Parliament of Ghana today and said that the relationship between India and Ghana knows no bounds, noting the friendship between the two nations was sweeter than Ghana's famous "Sugar Loaf Pineapple".

He also visited the Nkrumah Memorial Park in Ghana's Accra and paid tribute to Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's founding President and a revered leader of the African independence movement. The Prime Minister's visit to Trinidad and Tobago will be his first visit to the country as Prime Minister and the first bilateral visit at the Prime Ministerial level since 1999.

The Prime Minister will also be visiting Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia as part of his tour. He will be travelling to Brazil during the fourth leg of his visit, from July 5 to July 8, to attend the 17th BRICS Summit 2025, followed by a state visit to the South American country. (ANI)