Ghana’s Vice President, Her Excellency Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called for a strengthened and more balanced partnership between Africa and Europe as she addressed the Seventh AU–EU Summit in Luanda, Angola.

Delivering her remarks to Heads of State, government leaders, and senior officials from both continents, the Vice President conveyed warm greetings from President John Dramani Mahama and congratulated Angola on its 50th Independence anniversary.

She noted that the Summit was taking place at a time of “profound global transformation” and urged that longstanding cooperation between Africa and Europe be guided by mutual respect, shared values, and sustainable development.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang highlighted the progress Africa and the European Union have made since the landmark Cairo Summit in 2000, particularly in areas of peace, security, and governance.

She commended the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) as one of the continent's most significant achievements but warned that persistent challenges—including climate shocks, geopolitical tensions, piracy, and humanitarian crises—demand urgent and coordinated action.

Speaking on Ghana’s renewed national direction, the Vice President noted that the country’s 2026 Budget reflects a strong commitment to economic stabilisation and growth.

She emphasised that inflation has fallen to its lowest level in four years and the cedi has seen considerable stabilisation. Reforms in fiscal governance and revenue mobilisation, she said, are reinforcing Ghana’s economic foundations.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang explained that the government’s strategy rests on three pillars aligned with the AU–EU Vision 2030: restoring stability, improving infrastructure and connectivity, and prioritising job creation and human capital development. This stability, she stressed, positions Ghana to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s broader transformation agenda.

Addressing peace and security, the Vice President described West Africa as a region of “dynamic economies and creative youthful energy,” but cautioned that threats from extremist networks continue to grow.

These groups, she noted, take advantage of poverty, exclusion, and environmental degradation.

To confront these challenges, Ghana intends to convene a regional meeting on violent extremism.

She called for increased financial, technical, and logistical support for APSA, the African Governance Architecture, and Regional Economic Communities, describing them as critical drivers of continental peace and integration.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang welcomed the European Union’s €150 billion Global Gateway Initiative, aimed at supporting Africa’s green energy transition and digital transformation.

Ghana, she noted, is seeking further EU support in areas such as offshore patrol waivers, critical repairs on the Kpone hydroelectric dam, and assistance for the Damongo water facility.

The Vice President also reaffirmed Ghana’s leadership on the African Union’s 2025 theme, the Year of Reparations.

She announced that Ghana will present a UN resolution to recognise the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade as one of the gravest crimes against humanity and appealed to European partners to join as co-sponsors.

She commended the cooperation between the European and African Groups at the UN Human Rights Council and urged that the momentum be sustained to advance justice and equity.

Closing her address, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang invoked the words of the late Kofi Annan, underscoring that development, security, and human rights are inseparable pillars of progress.

She urged African and European leaders to build a partnership that turns those principles into action—“securing peace by expanding opportunity, and advancing development by ensuring stability.”