The US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer has given the assurance that the American government would maintain all of Ghana’s life-saving programmes under the US Agency for International Development (USAID), despite the overall budgetary cuts.
Speaking with Journalists in Accra, Ambassador Palmer underscored the historical and cultural ties connecting Ghana and the US reiterating that the connection is mutual for enhancing the bilateral relations of both countries and its citizens.
Shortly after taking office, the Trump administration announced elimination of more than 90 per cent of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall US assistance around the world, placing numbers on its plans to eliminate the majority of US development and humanitarian help abroad.
In her first media engagement since the political transitions in the US and Ghana, Ambassador Palmer reaffirmed Ghana’s longstanding relationship with the US as a vital partner. Ambassador Palmer said no matter the change in language, or the change in focus, Ghana is a really important partner of the United States and will continue to be so.
US supports Ghana’s economic recovery through institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other American business interests. In a historical and cultural context, Ambassador Palmer explained that Ghana and the US have had deeply rooted relationship founded on many fronts.
Specifically on the new tariffs, Ambassador Palmer downplayed the concerns over the future of US-Ghana trade relations following the 10 per cent baseline tax placed on imports from Ghana.
In spite of growing concerns, Ambassador Palmer reassured Ghanaians about the resilience of the US-Ghana trade relationship, which currently exceeded 3 billion dollars in bilateral trade and investment.
Ambassador Palmer said the life-saving programmes include the infant and child mortality, maternal health, the malaria elimination, HIV/AIDS prevention and other interventions providing essential medicines and the vaccines programmes.
Ambassador Palmer said although the support for those life-saving programmes would continue, many of them had been reviewed and changed. She expressed confidence that Ghana’s key exports, such as gold and gas, would remain vital to global trade and would not be significantly affected by US policy shifts.
Ghana remains an important part of the United States and will continue to be so, Ambassador Palmer stated.
Source: Graphic online