President John Mahama has announced plans for a structured labour migration agreement with the European Union (EU) to legally channel Ghanaian workers into EU job markets. 

The initiative seeks to curb perilous irregular migration while tackling the skilled labour shortages in Europe.  

Speaking at the 2025 Ghana-EU Partnership Dialogue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Accra yesterday, President Mahama said that formal talks were underway to establish mutual recognition of qualifications and fair labour standards, targeting key sectors such as health care, construction and agriculture, where Europe faced critical staff deficits.  

"This isn't about brain drain – it's about creating safe and regulated pathways that will benefit both continents," he added.

The President stressed the need for mutual recognition of qualifications and fair labour standards to create a win-win framework.  

This follows the existing practice where hundreds of West Africa’s youth who attempt to cross the Mediterranean routes die in the process.  

Event

The event was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa; Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah; Minister for the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, and the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, among other senior government officials.

Also present was the EU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchad Razaaly, some EU member states’ ambassadors to Ghana, and other dignitaries.

Economic revival

The President also described Ghana’s economic outlook as steady and rebounding, adding that efforts to restore macroeconomic stability through prudent fiscal management, enhanced revenue mobilisation and expenditure rationalisation were yielding positive results.

He cited the recent upgrade of Ghana’s credit outlook to B-minus, with a stable outlook by a fixed-rate exchange agency, as evidence of progress.  

President Mahama acknowledged the EU’s support in public financial management, domestic revenue reforms and anti-corruption initiatives, which he said were crucial for sustainable growth.  

He emphasised the importance of private sector investment in Ghana’s transformation, and mentioned a unified licensing regime to reduce regulatory bottlenecks, including a structured public-private dialogue framework, and a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) regime as some of the measures by the government in the sector.

He invited EU businesses to invest in Ghana, particularly in agribusiness, manufacturing and digital innovations.  

Defence cooperation

President Mahama reiterated Ghana’s commitment to regional peace, but warned of the growing threat of violent extremism in West Africa.

He called for increased EU collaboration in Ghana’s defence sector, including technology-driven initiatives, to boost national security and industrialisation.  

The President expressed optimism about leveraging the EU-supported Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to scale up renewable energy projects, including solar, wind and green hydrogen.  

He said Ghana was a leader in sustainable forestry, being the first African country to issue a Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Licence.

President Mahama also mentioned ongoing reforms in fisheries management to address the EU’s Yellow Card concerns.  

Major reforms 

For his part, Mr Ablakwa said Ghana was pushing for major reforms to the EU's Erasmus Mundus scholarship programme to create more opportunities in science and technology fields, while highlighting progress in broader partnership talks with the European bloc.

He said although Ghana consistently ranked among Africa's top recipients of the scholarships - 72 per cent, currently, the awards were for non-technical disciplines.

The minister mentioned the country’s immediate priorities to include securing EU support for evacuating citizens from conflict zones in Israel and Iran, accessing carbon market financing for climate projects, and enhancing intelligence-sharing to address regional security threats.  

Stronger bond

The EU Ambassador to Ghana underscored the growing bond of EU-Ghana relations, describing it as "stronger than ever".  

She said the first foreign leader to pay tribute to President Mahama after his election was the Czech President, adding that there were also visits from the Belgian Foreign Minister, the Austrian Foreign Minister, Italian President Mattarella, and German Chancellor Scholz.  

Ambassador Razaaly outlined three key pillars of cooperation that included economic transformation through initiatives such the €55 million vaccine production project.