Ghana-Israel relations refers to the bilateral relations between Ghana and Israel. Ghana and Israel maintained mutual ties since Israel's creation but severed their relations in the wake of the Yom Kippur War.
Ghana-Israel relations dates back to the mid-1950s after Israel offered support to develop the Ghanaian armed forces.
Early Cooperation and Development
In April 1959, Israel, with help from India, supervised the establishment of the Ghana Air Force. A small Israeli team also trained aircraft maintenance personnel and radio technicians at the Accra-based Air Force Trade Training School. Although the British persuaded Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah to withdraw Israeli advisers in 1960, Ghanaian pilots continued to receive some training at aviation schools in Israel.
Commenting on Ghana’s foreign policy, The Times of India, said that “in relation to Israel, both the two countries are moving very close together, and it is doubtful if any other country has closer relations with Ghana today than Israel. Commenting further, the paper wrote: “Cooperation between the two countries has sprung up in many fields. Ghana has decided to enter into business with the Zim shipping line of Israel. This partnership is intended to build up the Black Star Line of shipping for Ghana. Forty percent of the finance in this venture comes from the Israeli company.
“Needless to say that this particular trend in the country’s foreign policy is causing anger against Ghana among the Arab countries. President Nasser is known to have been writing long and frequent letters to Dr. Nkrumah on this subject. But this side of foreign relations is something which the Prime Minister of Ghana will no doubt attend to when the Pan-African Congress-in which all the Arab States in Africa are participating-meets in Accra in the course of the next few months.
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Severance and Renewal of Relations
However, following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Ghana severed relationships with Israel. For the next four decades, Israel and Ghana maintained only basic ties, through Nigeria. In September 2011, however, the two countries renewed their diplomatic relations.
65 Years of Solid Bilateral Diplomacy between Israel and Ghana- H.E Shlomit Sufa
The Israeli Embassy in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, officially reopened. "It's hard to describe the sense of pride we felt, standing here with a local orchestra playing the anthem and seeing the flag flying in the background," the new Ambassador to Ghana Sharon Bar-Lee said.
Recent Developments and Future Prospects
The Israeli mission to Ghana presented its credentials to President John Evans Atta Mills, at his bastion. After President Mills accepted the ambassador's credentials, he told the mission that Ghana has a large Israeli business community. "Ghanaians love Israel. It's not unusual to see cars with Israeli flags on them," he added.
Ghana's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, embarked on a 3-day official diplomatic mission to Israel at the invitation of Prime Minister Netanyahu in mid-March 2016. Tetteh met with Netanyahu to discuss security cooperation, agricultural development, and investment promotion between the two countries. Netanyahu is slated to visit many African countries, including Ghana, during Summer 2016.
In October 2004, a four-day Israeli trade fair titled "Applicable Technologies Fair 2004" occurred in Accra, Ghana.
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