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Ghana FOREIGN RELATIONS
Guiding Principles and Objectives
Ghana's foreign policy since independence has been
characterized by a commitment to the principles and ideals of
nonalignment and Pan-Africanism as first enunciated by Kwame
Nkrumah in the early 1960s. For Nkrumah, nonalignment meant
complete independence from the policies and alliances of both East
and West and support for a worldwide union of so-called nonaligned
nations as a counter to both East and West power blocs. PanAfricanism , by contrast, was a specifically African policy that
envisioned the liberation of African peoples from Western
colonialism and the eventual economic and political unity of the
African continent
(see The Organization of African Unity and the Rest of Africa
, this ch.).
The PNDC, like most of its predecessors, made serious and
consistent attempts at the practical application of these ideals
and principles, and its successor, the NDC government, promises to
follow in the PNDC's footsteps. Under the NDC, Ghana remains
committed to the principle of nonalignment in world politics. Ghana
is also opposed to interference in the internal affairs of both
small and large countries. This is a departure from Nkrumah's
foreign policy approach; Nkrumah was frequently accused of
subverting African regimes, such as Togo and Côte d'Ivoire, which
he considered ideologically conservative. The NDC government, like
the PNDC before it, believes in the principle of selfdetermination , including the right to political independence and
the right of people to pursue their economic and social development
free from external interference. Another feature of NDC rule
carried over from the PNDC era is faithfulness to what a leading
scholar of Africa has called "one of the most successful
neoclassical economic reform efforts supported by the IMF and the
World Bank."
The broad objectives of Ghana's foreign policy thus include
maintaining friendly relations and cooperation with all countries
that desire such cooperation, irrespective of ideological
considerations, on the basis of mutual respect and noninterference
in each other's internal affairs. Africa and its liberation and
unity are naturally the cornerstones of Ghana's foreign policy. As
a founding member of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), NDC
policy is to adhere faithfully to the OAU Charter.
Another important principle of Ghana's foreign policy involves
the closest possible cooperation with neighboring countries with
which the people of Ghana share cultural history, ties of blood,
and economics. The results have included various bilateral trade
and economic agreements and permanent joint commissions involving
Ghana and its immediate neighbors, sometimes in the face of latent
ideological and political differences and mutual suspicion, as well
as numerous reciprocal state visits by high-ranking officials.
These measures have contributed significantly to subregional
cooperation, development, and the reduction of tension.
As an example of Ghana's interest in regional cooperation, the
country enthusiastically endorsed formation of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1975. This
organization was created specifically to foster inter-regional
economic and political cooperation
(see Trade
, ch. 3). It has
served as a useful vehicle for contacts with neighboring West
African governments and for channeling increased Ghanaian exports
to regional markets. Since 1990 ECOWAS has been engaged in a
peacekeeping mission in Liberia to which Ghana has contributed a
large contingent of troops. Ghana has participated in other
international peacekeeping efforts as well, sending soldiers to
operations of the United Nations (UN) in Cambodia in 1992-93 and
Rwanda in 1993-94
(see International Security Concerns
, ch. 5).
In August 1994, Rawlings became ECOWAS chairman, a post that
had eluded him since the PNDC came to power. He immediately
undertook several initiatives to reduce tensions and conflict in
West Africa. Notable among them was the Akosombo Accord of
September 12, designed to end civil war in Liberia.
Data as of November 1994
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