Time check, it is 21:00 hours on the 23rd of February, 2018. The call for boarding is heard over the public address system of the Kotoka International Airport. Turkish Airline Boeing 737-900 ER (flight 0630) will be the aircraft that will convey the presidential advance and media teams to Berlin, Germany, for the official visit of Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The Istanbul Connection
At about 3am local time in Istanbul, Turkey (6am GMT), flight 0630 touched down at the Atatürk International Airport. The team had two hours to transition onto Turkish Airline flight 1721 enroute to Berlin, Germany. The team took a quick 15-minute walk after disembarking at the Atatürk Airport in order to make it in time for the destination flight.
Berlin, Here We Come!
With Turkish Airline keeping to their advertised timelines, the team boarded the flight in good time. At about 05:30 hours (local time in Istanbul) and 08:30 GMT, we were airborne enroute to Berlin.
The Landing Scare
The three- hour flight from Istanbul to Berlin was pretty smooth until it was time for landing at the Tegel Berlin Airport. The team members as well as other passengers onboard were visibly troubled by what appeared to be a frightening landing. The captain of the flight inspite of the obvious challenge encountered managed to execute a safe landing.
Welcome to the Winter Land of Logic
From a temperature of 29 Degrees Celsius in Accra, the team is welcomed to Berlin’s -9 Degrees Celsius and oh yes, it was a big shock. After going through the rather very logical passport control and boarder agency clearance processes at the Tegel Airport in Berlin, all the team members had to engage their luggage to find additional clothing to help withstand the freaking cold winter in Berlin.
The Journey to the West
After arriving in Berlin, officials of the host embassy informed us that the visit of the President will start in Dortmund and end in Berlin. In light of that, the team was informed that we had to embark on a four-hour journey west of Berlin to Dortmund after our ten hours of travel by air.
Off to the Bahnhof
Two officials of the Ghana embassy in Berlin, Germany, quickly assisted us into the travel vans stationed at the airport amidst the harsh weather enroute to the Berlin Train Station (the Bahnhof). After about an hour and a half of waiting, our train tickets were ready and our four-hour journey commenced at 2:00pm local time in Berlin (1pm GMT).
ICE 943
As we stood on platform six (6), waiting for ICE 943, the train expected to transport us to Dortmund, team members had to keep our hands in our pockets constantly in order to keep warm. ICE 943 finally arrived and the team found our way unto the train.
The German Rail Travel
Perhaps the level of organization, consistency and well kept rail travel network of Germany made me put aside the stress and admire the beauty of a well thought out system of travel. I was forced to research on their railway system while on my four hour journey. I discovered that the entire Federal Republic of Germany made up of 16 states, is interconnected by well developed rail, road and air travel options. All three available options are used by citizenry depending on the traveler’s own choice.
The Dortmund Entry
A little after 6pm local time in Dortmund, the team arrived in the North Rhine Westphalia state of Dortmund. Two embassy officials who had traveled earlier to Dortmund were readily available to receive the team. In no time and in order to escape the freezing temperatures and to take solace in some heat, all members of the team were onboard the travel vans enroute to our first of three hotels that will host the team for the five nights in Germany.
The Radisson Blu Hotel Experience
After 15 minutes of travel, the team arrived at the Radisson Blu Hotel where the first three nights of the team would be spent. The team checked in and settled down effectively bringing day one to a successful end.
The Briefing
After breakfast the morning of day two, the embassy officials arrived at our hotel to brief us on details of the visit of the President and to plan on how to assist the media team to effectively cover the visit of President Akufo Addo to Germany. The entire itinerary, subject to changes, was presented and all questions were answered. All was set to welcome the President and his entourage the following day for the visit to begin.
Off to Town
After the briefing and the completion of all necessary arrangements, the team decided to explore the old city of Dortmund. The city centre was our obvious destination. A call at the reception of the hotel brought two full specked and metered Mercedes Benz saloon vehicles (taxi) to the reception entrance of the hotel for our 5 minutes journey to the city centre. After about 2 hours in town, the team returned to the comfort of the well heated Radisson Blu Hotel to prepare for the arrival of His Excellency, the President. Day two was effectively over.
The President’s Arrival
At about half 8 in the morning on day three, I step out of the elevator into the hotel lobby from my room on the 5th floor and was amazed at the host of people already present at the hotel preparing for the arrival of the President. Security officials conducted their checks, embassy staff were consulting to fine tune their programme outlines and timelines, State Protocol officers were securing all necessary protocols and what have you.
Change in Arrival Time
The original arrival time of the President set for 9:00pm local time in Dortmund was revised to 11:00pm. The receiving parties had no option than to wait. At about half 9, the motorcade of the President moved from the Radisson Blu Hotel enroute to the Dortmund International Airport to receive the President. The President’s plane finally touched down at about 10:55pm. Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany, H. E. Gina Blay and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, received the President and his team. The cold weather at the time of arrival meant that the President would be hurriedly transported to his hotel. Upon arrival, President Akufo Addo exchanged pleasantries with several of the persons who had gathered. His security detail quickly moved him to his room to bring day three to a fruitful end.
Let the Games Begin
At 8:20am local time in Dortmund, the whole presidential entourage was out in the cold weather which stood at -5 Degrees Celsius seeking to secure their seats. The convoy was scheduled to leave at 8:30am and no one could afford to be left behind.
The First Port of Call
The first port of call was to the conference venue where the President delivered the keynote address at the 5th German-African Economic Forum, under the theme “African Markets, Potentials and Opportunities for German Businesses”, which was held under the auspices of the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herr Armin Laschet.
In his address, President Akufo Addo charged authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to as a matter of importance treat African migrants humanely even if they breached German laws in their quest to seek greener pastures. He emphasized that the rather terrible economies of Africa are the very reasons why young Africans are embarking on dangerous travels to better their lot in Europe. However, the migration challenges on the continent were no reason for the West to mishandle such young and daring Africans.
The Four-Point Agenda
In his speech, the President made four observations that are worth noting. The first was on the treatment metered out to African migrants who come to Germany to work. The President said it is his expectation that the nature of current and future relations between Germany and Africa will entail that African migrants who come to Germany to work will be treated humanely even if they regrettably infringed Germany’s laws.
The second priority is to increase trade cooperation and not aid. This is one of the ways, he noted, to develop healthy economic relations between Africa and Germany and indeed with the rest of the world and thereby help put African products on the high end of the value chain in the global marketplace and provide jobs for Africans, particularly the youth.
The third agenda is to cooperate to ensure the promotion of transparent and inclusive policy and decision making processes at local, national, regional, continental and global levels.
Lastly, the President called for prioritization of budgetary arrangements to ensure that funds are available for the strengthening of key institutions of state such as the Legislature, Judiciary and physical institutions of state to make them independent.
Stop Over at Wilo Pumps
After this session, the Minister for Federal, European and International Affairs of the German State of North Rhine Westphalia, accompanied the President to visit Wilo Pumps. Founded in 1872, Wilo Pumps has grown from a small enterprise into a global player that specializes in water supply techniques like rainwater utilization, water purification, desalination, and professional irrigation / agriculture. After the meeting between executives of Wilo Pumps and the President, the company indicated that they are looking forward to expand their small agency office in Accra into a fully functioning company / subsidiary in Ghana.
A Call on the Minister President
Next on the President’s schedule was a call on the Minister President of the German state of North Rhine Westphalia, Admin Laschet. After holding a closed door meeting, the two leaders addressed a press conference. At the press conference, the Minister President stated that Ghana’s market and the rest of Africa holds great potential for the economy of North Rhine Westphalia and Germany as a whole. He observed that the market potentials for the economy of North Rhine – Westphalia are in the area of renewable energy and water management. He and his cabinet are therefore ready to launch a joint exchange programme for start-up companies in the identified areas and particularly in the digital service industry.
President Akufo-Addo at the Press Conference
In his rather brief remarks, the President Akufo-Addo registered his sincere thanks to the Minister President for his invitation. He welcomed the renewed commitment of Germany to partner with Ghana in her industrialization efforts.
Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia
Armin Laschet, born 18th February, 1961, is a German politician. He currently serves as one of five deputy chairmen of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and head of the party in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. Laschet was born in Burtscheid, a suburb of Aachen near the Belgian and Dutch borders, to an observant Roman Catholic family. His father was a supervisor at a black coal mine and later became an elementary school teacher and headmaster. He attended the Pius-Gymnasium in Aachen and studied law at the universities of Bonn and Munich, passing the first state examination in law in 1987.
He studied journalism from 1986 to 1988. In Munich he became a member of K.D.St.V. Aenania München, a Catholic student fraternity that is a member of the Cartellverband. Laschet worked as a journalist and in the publishing industry from 1986 until 1991, including as Bonn correspondent for Bayerischer Rundfunk. He later served as editor-in-chief of Kirchen Zeitung Aachen from 1991 until 1994. Under Minister-President Jürgen Rüttgers in North Rhine-Westphalia, Laschet served as State Minister for Generations, Family, Women and Integration from 2005 until 2010, and as State Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and Media from 2010. In 2010, he unsuccessfully ran against Norbert Röttgen for the post of CDU Chairman in the state.
When Röttgen resigned from that office in 2012, Laschet was elected as his successor. On 4th December, 2012, he was elected as one of five deputy chairpersons of the National CDU Party, serving alongside Volker Bouffier, Julia Klöckner, Thomas Strobl and Ursula von der Leyen. Since 27th June, 2017, Laschet has been the 11th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia. As one of his state’s representatives at the Bundesrat, he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Defence Committee.
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state in Germany, with 17.5 million inhabitants, located in the west of the country. It consists of two historically independent parts – Nordrhein, the urbanized area across the river Rhine in the southwest, and Westfalen in the northeast, which is quite diverse as it includes both the heavy industrialized and densely populated Ruhr Valley and the very green Teutoburg Forest.
The region contains several of the most-often visited cities of Germany, both for business and pleasure. Here you can find numerous headquarters of Germany’s large and medium corporations, European outposts of Asian and American multinationals, as well as world-renowned factories. Many of the globally important trade fairs take place in Düsseldorf and Cologne, the latter is also a major cultural centre. The beautiful historic city of Bonn was West Germany’s de facto capital until 1990 and still contains many federal institutions, both governmental and cultural.
With the large population accumulated within a small area, as well as equally sizeable tourist traffic, North Rhine-Westphalia possesses the appropriate transportation infrastructure, with three major international airports and a very efficient – if sometimes overcrowded – railway and motorway network. NRW as it is frequently abbreviated, also contains the first “cycle highway” of Germany which is planned to grow to over 100 km of fully grade separated extra broad cycle route. Accommodation and gastronomic opportunities are aplenty as well. There is always a lot going on and getting between destinations is easy and quick.
The Visit to the NRW Parliament
President Akufo Addo as part of his official working tour of Germany visited the Landtag (State Parliament) of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The President upon arrival was taken on a tour of the inner chamber of the parliament house and given a brief history of the building. Landtag’s President, André Kuper and other officials of the Parliament held a closed door meeting with the President and his entourage comprising the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey; the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Prof. Dr. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and other senior officials of the Presidency.
Landtag (State Parliament) of North Rhine-Westphalia
Officially opened on 2nd October, 1988, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Landtag building is the first completely new parliament building to be built in the history of the German Federal Republic. It was the first time that a German parliament had designed its future home itself and the first time that a parliament’s own view of itself had been translated into architecture.
Parliament Square
In the competition to find a new building for the Landtag, the politicians who commissioned it had the courage to award first prize to the design by the architects Eller, Maier, Moser, Walter and Partners. A monumental style of building was not what they had in mind but rather a building which 18 million citizens could feel was for them. Comparatively modest, at 105 meters wide, 195 meters long and 21 meters high, the Landtag building is impressive primarily because of its extravagant shape. Starting from the ‘in the round’ seating arrangements inside the plenary chamber, the circle was developed as the fundamental architectural principle, and right angles were consciously avoided.
The Architect of the Landtag
The circular plenary chamber was made into the centre of the building, laid out for a maximum of 300 people; linked to it are the four rooms for the parliamentary parties, also forming a circle and with a lobby which can act as a connecting or separating element. This is also an outward way of emphasizing the special status of the political debate and of the political assessment of objective facts, and at the same time a way of underlining the nature of the parliament as a meeting place.
The Landtag and the People of NRW
As a parliament close to its citizens, the Landtag building does not have any physical delimitations; the building is open to the public and is therefore accessible to all. For that reason, the zone around the Landtag where demonstrations are not allowed was also kept to modest dimensions. This remarkable Landtag building, however, came at a price: North Rhine-Westphalia’s taxpayers had to make 160 million Euro available for the project. But the high degree of acceptance with which it has been received is proof that it has been money well spent.
Departure from Dortmund
After the Landtag encounter, the itinerary of the President in Dortmund had been successfully executed. His motorcade headed straight to the Dortmund International Airport enroute to Berlin for the second part of the President’s visit. At exactly 5:00pm local time, President Akufo Addo and his senior staff were airborne to Berlin.
Our Journey Back to the North
After seeing the President off at the airport, the team would now head to the train station (Bahnhof) to catch this time round, Ice 945 back to Berlin. At exactly 6:48pm, Ice 945 arrived on platform 10 and the whole team got on board for the return 4-hour journey to Berlin. At about 10:42pm, we arrived in Berlin and the Saddic Hotel would be our resting place ahead of day five.
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Summit
The media team pick up van came in late to our hotel the morning of the fifth day. By the time we made our way to the first event of the day, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation’s German-Ghana Business Forum, the President was already seated. We hurriedly set up our cameras in order not to miss anymore of the event.
In her speech, the Minister responsible for Economic Affairs and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Brigitte Zypries, called for a re-look at some aspects of Ghana’s investment laws as the country gears up for economic and industrial transformation. The Minister said President Akufo Addo and his government ought to take a second look at the investment laws of Ghana if the new wave of German-Ghanaian economic relations is to see the full benefits of the business potential it presents.
President Akufo Addo in his keynote addresses indicated that he has taken notice of the suggestion by the Minister for a review of Ghana’s investment laws. The lawful processes the President assured, will be initiated for purposes of considering the investment laws of the country. Additionally, he told the gathering that his government has taken specific measures which will lead the country and its economy into the new digital age. These include the introduction of an e-business registration system, a paperless port clearance system, a digital addressing system, a mobile interoperability system, and a national identification card system, all of which are designed to formalize the Ghanaian economy, reduce the cost of doing business, and facilitate interaction between businesses and their clients, particularly in a technology-driven era, where connectivity through digital services is an important element in achieving competitiveness.
“I am, thus, notifying the German business community, to take advantage of the growing business-friendly climate in the country to invest in Ghana,” he said. The President continued, “Our flagship policies of ‘One District, One Factory’, ‘One Village, One Dam’, and the ‘Programme for Planting for Food and Jobs’ map out areas of opportunity, which I commend to you, as I do areas in the development of renewable energy and ICT growth. We are particularly keen to receive German investment in the area of renewable energy, for reasons that are self-evident.”
Addressing the challenge of the country’s infrastructural deficit, he told the gathering that his government is embarking on an aggressive public private partnership programme to attract investment in the development of both the country’s road and railway infrastructure. “We are hopeful that, with solid private sector participation, we can develop a modern railway network with strong production centre linkages and with the potential to connect us to our neighbours to the north, i.e. Burkina Faso, to the west, i.e. Cote d’Ivoire, and to the east, i.e. Togo. We believe that this is an area where German and European technology and expertise would be very welcome,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo was confident that Ghana is on the cusp of a new, bold beginning, which will repudiate the recent culture of failure. “We are determined to lift our country out of the doldrums. We want to use all the blessings that the Almighty has bestowed on us to bring progress and prosperity to our people, in our time. The Black Star is poised to shine and shine again, for truly, the project is Ghana beyond aid,” he added.
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS)
The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is a political foundation, closely associated with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). As co-founder of the CDU and the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967) united Christian-social, conservative and liberal traditions. His name is synonymous with the democratic reconstruction of Germany, the firm alignment of foreign policy with the trans-Atlantic community of values, the vision of a unified Europe and an orientation towards the social market economy. His intellectual heritage continues to serve both as KAS’s aim and obligation today. Freedom, justice and solidarity are the basic principles underlying the work of the KAS.
In its European and international cooperation efforts, KAS works for people to be able to live self-determined lives in freedom and dignity. They make a contribution underpinned by values to helping Germany meet its growing responsibilities throughout the world as well as encourage people to lend a hand in shaping the future along these lines. With more than 70 offices abroad and projects in over 120 countries, KAS makes a unique contribution to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and a social market economy. To foster peace and freedom, KAS encourages a continuous dialog at the national and international levels as well as the exchange between cultures and religions.
KAS cooperates with governmental institutions, political parties, civil society organizations and handpicked elites, building strong partnerships along the way. In particular KAS seeks to intensify political cooperation in the area of development cooperation at the national and international levels on the foundations of its objectives and values. Together with its partners KAS makes a contribution to the creation of an international order that enables every country to develop in freedom and under its own responsibility.
The Chancellor Merkel Encounter
After the KAS forum, the full honor presidential motorcade was formed up ready to move the President to the Seat of the German Federal Government. Upon arrival, President Akufo Addo was received by state functionaries of Germany and ushered into the offices of Chancellor Merkel. The two leaders held bilateral talks for about 45 minutes after which they addressed a press conference.
My Question to the German Chancellor
After both leaders presented their preliminary remarks at the press conference, I posed a question seeking to know if a review of the Compact With Africa (CWA) initiated by the German presidency in the Finance Track, endorsed by the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Baden-Baden in March, 2017, to promote private investment in Africa, including infrastructure was in the offing. In her answer, the Chancellor Angela Merkel, stated that her administration is fully committed to ensuring the full implementation of the Compact With Africa. She added that, the success of the Compact is extremely important to her and her administration. To that end, she indicated that constant consultations with the IMF and World Bank as well as Finance Ministers of the beneficiary countries are ongoing to ensure the success of the Compact.
Importance of the Proposed Review Meeting
President Akufo Addo added his voice by stressing on the importance of the whole Compact and indicated that the autumn meeting as proposed by the Chancellor between the beneficiary states and Germany will certainly offer both sides a clear opportunity to take stock and to know to what extent it has been successful and the way forward.
About the Compact With Africa (CWA)
Central to the CWA is the concept of mutual commitments to measures and instruments to improve the framework conditions for private investment, including in infrastructure. The aim is to develop comprehensive, coordinated, and country-specific investment compacts between individual African countries, international organizations (IOs), and other partners. Investment Compacts will specify measures and instruments to improve the macro, business and financing frameworks. Possible measures and instruments for investment compacts are laid out in the CWA report jointly prepared by the African Development Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group. The first seven African countries to express interest in individual Investment Compacts are Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, and Tunisia. Authorities of these countries are working with the three IO’s to iron out draft investment compacts. The initiative is demand-driven and open to all African countries.
Departure from the Seat of Government
The two leaders after the Press Conference exchanged the ceremonial handshake and walked the red carpet. After engaging in the exchange of departure pleasantries, President Akufo Addo’s motorcade drove off to his hotel bringing the second part of his official visit to an end.
Our Check Out and Check In
The hotel of the media team that received us upon our return from Dortmund could only host us for a day. The team as a result was referred to another hotel, Saddic Annex, where we would spend the last night of the Germany assignment.
Departure from the Winter-Ridden Germany
President Akufo Addo and his senior officials had another assignment in Washington DC before returning to Ghana. Their departure from for Berlin was scheduled for 10:00am. Turkish Airline flight TK1728 was scheduled for 07:00am local time in Berlin, Germany, and in line with timelines for international travel, the team was expected to be at the airport 2 clear hours before departure time. At about 04:50am, we were in a taxi for a 15-minute journey from our hotel to the Tegel Berlin Airport. Flight TK 1728 took off at about 07:20am and landed in Istanbul 11:45am local time. Our connecting flight from Istanbul to Accra, flight TK 0629, was airborne at about 4:00pm local time (1pm GMT) and touched down at the Kotoka International Airport at about 8:15pm.
Final Words
Ghana obviously has a lot to learn from Germany. Their infrastructural network (road, rail and air travel), sense of security, industrial revolution, cleanliness, decentralized system of government, etc., are several of the perfect model they offer us. I am eternally grateful to God my Heavenly Father, for the travel opportunity.
The travelogue closes for now and awaits the next destination. Danke.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Wilberforce Asare/Presidential Correspondent
