Mr. President, Your Excellencies. It has been sixty years since my country, Ghana, became a member of this Organisation.
We are gathered here in Oseikrom, Kumasi, capital of the great Asante Kingdom, to mark World Cocoa Day, and, in doing so, celebrate the hundreds of thousands of cocoa farmers across the country who are responsible for the production of a crop, that has, for over a century, been the mainstay of the economy of our country.
COMMISSIONER GENERAL OF GRA CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBERS OF GRA MANAGEMENT TEAM OF CATA EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF CATA MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF GRA DELEGATES FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE DISTINGUISHED INVITED GUESTS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN FROM THE MEDIA LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
Let me, first, welcome you all warmly to the seat of the Presidency of our nation. Your presence here will enable me to perform one of the most pleasant tasks I will perform as President, and, that is to express, on behalf of the Ghanaian people and their government, the gratitude of the nation to the men and women who were entrusted with the responsibility of making sure that the maritime boundary dispute with our immediate, western neighbour, Cote d’Ivoire, ended favourably for Ghana, and, thereby, ensuring that our western maritime resources, including its oil and gas potential, rightfully remained in our possession.
Let me begin by recalling that, on this auspicious day, three of our number are not with us. I refer to the late Prof. John Evans Atta-Mills, the 3rd President of the 4th Republic, who died in office, the first President to do so in our history; to the late Kow Nkensen Arkaah, former Vice President; and also to the late Alhaji Aliu Mahama, former Vice President. I entreat you, respectfully, to stand up, and observe a minute’s silence in their memories, in recognition of their services to the nation. May their souls rest in perfect peace!
Ghana, is a west African country, bound on the north by Burkina Faso, on the east by Togo, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean,and on the west by Côte d'Ivoire.
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