The Surinamese Ambassador to Ghana, Fidelia Graand-Galon, has reaffirmed her country’s commitment to strengthening relations with Ghana in the areas of culture, tourism and trade, for the mutual benefit of their peoples.

She gave the assurance at the second Tree Planting Festival of the people of Liati-Wote, in the Afadzato South District of the Volta Region, last Saturday (June 7).

According to the ambassador, Ghana and Suriname are already bound by shared ethnic and traditional values, with similar lifestyles that could be explored to deepen bilateral cooperation.

“There are glaring similarities in certain traditions such as royalty, tribal ethics, reverence for the palaces, and customs, which testify to the fact that we are actually one people,” she told the gathering.

Ambassador Graand-Galon highlighted that in Suriname, people pour libation to the ancestors, and before doing so, they say ‘agoo’, just as is customary in Ghana. She also noted that there are seven ethnic languages spoken in Suriname, several of which share words with Ewe.

“For example, Ewe words such as kpedevi, atuu, and woezor are used daily in Suriname,” she said.

She further noted that among the Surinamese, a girl born on Monday is called Madzo, which is similar to the Ewe name Adzo in Ghana.

Describing Liati-Wote as a community with features similar to those in Suriname, the envoy added that both countries produce similar foodstuffs and enjoy the same types of meals.

“We now need to re-write our own authentic history and relate as brothers and sisters from the same background,” she emphasised.

Ambassador Graand-Galon also advocated for stronger collaboration between the two countries in the fields of art and fashion, which she described as a potentially lucrative venture.

She observed during the tree planting exercise that Ghana and Suriname shared similar flora and fauna, reinforcing their natural bond.

The District Chief Executive for Afadzato South, Manfred Tawiah, praised the people of Liati-Wote for their respect and care for the environment.

Also speaking at the event, the Volta Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Paschal Agbagba, said the devastation caused by rainstorms in Liati-Wote earlier this year underscored the need to plant more trees and nurture them to act as windbreaks and environmental buffers.

The Regional Customer Service Officer of the Forestry Commission, Mr Tordey Gershon Amaglo, revealed that the commission is pursuing a programme to plant 300,000 trees in the Volta Region before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the Dufia of Liati-Wote, Togbe Kodadza V, renewed his appeal to the government to take urgent steps to improve the mobile network coverage in the area and rehabilitate the roads leading to the community to boost tourism and attract other business ventures.