Interviews

PROSPECTS FOR STRONGER BILATERAL COOPERATION   

Russia-Ghana relations suffered serious setbacks and stayed shaky from the mid-1960s and although diplomatic relations have been consistent, trade, economic and cultural ties have not been so consistent.  Russia's Ambassador to Ghana since 2002, Mr Valery Orlov, discusses these issues:

THE WORLD DIPLOMAT:  What is your assessment of Russia-Ghana relations today?

H.E. VALERY ORLOV: Russia cherishes its long-standing friendship with Ghana. I can see prospects for strengthening our bilateral cooperation and exploring new spheres.

There has been a number of bilateral exchanges in the past three years. Among these were the visit of a Russian parliamentary and business delegation to Ghana in 2003, of a Ghanaian parliamentary delegation to Moscow and St. Petersburg in 2004, the establishment of the Ghana-Russia Chamber of Commerce, the formation of the Ghana-Russia parliamentary group and business trips to Ghana by representatives of several Russian companies. There were also the meeting of the Ghanaian Foreign Minister, Nana Akufo-Addo, with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, A. Saltanov, in New York, the visit of the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Y. Fedotov, to Ghana in 2004 and the inter-ministerial consultations in Moscow in January 2005, which examined further cooperation between Ghana and Russia. Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Minister of Defence, visited Russia in August 2005, for the Seventh Moscow Aviation and Space Salon, met with representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defence and officials of the Russian state-owned arms sales agency, "Rosoboronexport", and discussed military and technical cooperation.

In January 2004 we began building a new Russian Embassy in Accra, the first in Africa in the past 15 years. This reaffirms Russia's intention to develop relations with Ghana and shows that Russia considers Ghana a reliable and time-tested partner.

Along with other G8 partners, Russia has been contributing to the implementation of the goals of NEPAD. So far Russia has written off, or is committed to writing off, $11.3bn of African debt, including $2.2bn within the HIPC Initiative. Russia has already made a contribution of $10m into the HIPC Trust Fund and will be paying another $15m in 2006-2008.

Russia has already transferred $13.75m out of a promised $20m to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and is paying another $20m in 2005-2006. In May 2005 we completed transferring our pledge of $8m to the World Initiative to Liquidate Polio.

Russia is also providing humanitarian aid for emergency relief in Algeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Morocco. 

T.W.D.: The initial stages of the relationship were marked by a large number of scholarships to Ghanaians for study in Soviet institutions. Does Russia still give scholarships to Ghana and for what areas of study?

V. ORLOV: One of the most developed areas of cooperation between Russia and Ghana was education. Before 2004, Russia offered Ghana 20 state scholarships annually; 15 for higher education, five for post-graduate studies. Now we offer 30 scholarships, but not all                of them are being taken. For the 2005/2006 academic year, Ghana made use of only 23 out of 30 scholarships granted. There are dozens of private Ghanaian students in a number of prestigious Russian universities. Some 3,500 Ghanaians have graduated from higher educational institutions in the Soviet Union and Russia and more than 250 are studying there today. 

T.W.D.: Russia was, until quite a few years ago, in grave economic difficulty but these have now been successfully overcome. How did Russia manage that?

VALERY ORLOV: The Russian economy is still in the process of reform but the situation has already changed in a fundamental way. Over the past few years the economy has been growing at about 7 percent a year. In 2004 it grew by 7.1 percent and for 2005 we expect more than 6 percent. Indeed, real income growth stands at about 8.5 percent. We have a trade surplus and a primary budget surplus. The Central Bank's gold and currency reserves reached $162.9 billion in October 2005, from a low of $12 billion in 2000. We are paying off our foreign debt - 16 percent of our GDP compared with 78 percent five years ago. We have created the Stabilisation Fund, what others call "a fund for future generations." All of these together create a stable situation. People can plan their lives and their businesses better. 

T.W.D.: In what ways is Russia responding to Ghana's call to participate in her economic development?

VALERY ORLOV: Russia has a small business presence in Ghana: only seven companies, which is not good enough. We are collaborating with our Ghanaian counterparts to create the basis for the development of sustainable trade and economic relations. We are banking our hopes on the Ghana-Russia Chamber of Commerce (GRCC); we are providing relevant information on business opportunities at our Embassy's website and have seriously been discussing development cooperation with top-ranking Ghanaian officials. I strongly believe that it will soon be possible to develop trade and economic relations to match the scale of political relations. 

T.W.D.:  What is Russia's stand on the enlargement of, and Africa's quest for representation on, the UN Security Council?

VALERY ORLOV: Russia's position is that neither the present status of the Permanent Five, nor the Veto Power should change. We are convinced that a decision on the expansion of the Council has to come from the broadest possible consensus among UN member states. Russia also believes that while Africa should be represented on the UN Security Council, reform has to come from the broadest possible consensus, so that the effectiveness of this body would be improved.  

T.W.D.: Your country has suffered gravely from the activities of terrorists and is a supporter of strong action against terrorism. How do you cooperate with other countries that are also active in fighting terrorism?

V. ORLOV: Russia spares no effort in combating this global evil. The terrorist threat is still extremely dangerous, but nobody has ever said that the fight against terrorism would be over quickly. For this fight to be successful it is necessary to apply the same yardstick to all those who train or inspire terrorists, and certainly to those who perpetrate terrorist acts. We expect that people suspected of complicity in terrorist activities would be extradited to the countries that demand it, especially since UN Security Council Resolution 1566, passed in the wake of Beslan, stresses the need to apply common criteria to such individuals. Ideally, there should be a common list of all those involved in terrorist acts. Russia has submitted a proposal on this to the Security Council.  

T.W.D.:  The proliferation of nuclear weapons must be another area of concern to Russia, which holds one of the largest stocks. What is Russia doing to persuade newly emerging forces to give up nuclear weapons development?

V. ORLOV: For Russia, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is an important component of international security, which has in the past 35 years proved its effectiveness in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Russia does not need to be convinced that Iran should have no nuclear weapons. This has been our consistent position and we have been pursuing it in contacts with the Iranian leadership. In order to remove existing concerns about Iran's nuclear programme, strictly professional work is necessary, which the IAEA is now concerned with.  

T.W.D.:  Cultural exchanges formed part of Russia-Ghana relations in the past. What is the state of this component today?   

V. ORLOV: Cultural relations between Russia and Ghana date back to 1960, when the treaty on cultural and economic cooperation was signed.  Today the Embassy of Russia makes all efforts to sustain these cultural ties and seeks to give them a new momentum. We support the Russian Language departments of the Ghana Institute of Languages and of the University of Ghana, Legon. Every year, Russia offers scholarships to the best students from Legon to pursue further studies at the Pushkin Institute of the Russian Language in Russia. In October 2005 representatives of the Russian Embassy took part in a medical outreach organised by the Soviet/Russian Trained Ghanaian Graduates Association (SOTGGA) at Odumasi, Krobo, in the Eastern Region. With support from the Russian construction company MOSSIB, the Embassy provided drugs that were dispensed to the patients. 

T.W.D.:  Your family appears to be doing far more for the two countries' cultural relations than your own status demands. Your wife is an unofficial cultural ambassador. How does your family manage to combine the official and the unofficial?

V. ORLOV: You are right. Mrs. Orlov actively participates in the cultural life of Ghana. When she first came to Ghana, she was deeply impressed by the original, striking, unique colours and, being a designer, began to study them seriously. This has had a profound influence on her work, notably on the interior design of the Russian Ambassador's Residence and the new Embassy building. She has already been in touch with Russian designers and is preparing a series of articles on original West African design concepts for the Russian media.

One interesting feature of Ghanaian culture is beads.  Mrs Orlov got so interested in this cultural artefact that she joined the Ghana Beads Society and has since been participating in exhibitions of beads, including the hugely successful big Beads Fashion Show in May 2005, together with Ghana's ten best bead makers.

Cultural links between our two countries are now at a low level and I believe the work of Mrs. Orlov attempts to bridge this gap.

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