Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire have signed an Agreement for the establishment of the Cote D’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative Secretariat in Accra.
The agreement is in line with the fundamental elements of the Charter of the Initiative, which amongst other things stipulates that Ghana provides a permanent place or office for the smooth running of the organisation.
It said the establishment of the secretariat would provide the much-needed coordinated effort to improve the earnings of cocoa farmers in the two countries. The agreement supported sustainable cocoa production, research, and marketing of Cocoa from both countries.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, said the agreement climaxed years of deepened bilateral cooperation to harmonize the interests of the two cocoa-producing countries.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said the agreement will grant Ghana the needed accord for the operation of the organization when it comes to some diplomatic privileges for the Secretariat and its staff.
Both countries have settled on the Director of Corporate Affairs for Europe and Africa, Alex Arnaud Assanavo as the first-ever Executive Secretary of the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative.
