President Lee Jae-myung held a summit with Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama on June 11, emphasizing that "Ghana is a solid bridgehead connecting Korea's entry into the African market." President Mahama noted that "Ghana is a country with very high potential for critical minerals" and proposed bilateral cooperation in mineral exploration.
President Lee held the summit with President Mahama, who is on a working visit to Korea, at Cheong Wa Dae. This marks the first visit by an African head of state since President Lee's inauguration. President Mahama's visit comes approximately two years after the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit.
President Lee stated, "Korea and Ghana are very old friends who will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year," adding that "since establishing diplomatic ties in 1977, bilateral trade volume has increased approximately 38-fold." He highlighted recent plans to establish a large-scale rice cultivation complex in Ghana to produce Korean rice seeds starting next year, noting that "we are seeing remarkable fruits of cooperation in various fields including maritime security, trade, and agriculture."
President Mahama also emphasized that agricultural cooperation between the two countries is "very important for enhancing food security." He said, "Ghana values its cooperative relationship with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and places great importance on the 'K-Rice' project that Korea has implemented," adding, "We intend to focus on increasing rice production by utilizing the improved rice seeds provided by Korea."
He continued, "Ghana exports bauxite, manganese, and gold, and lithium deposits have recently been discovered," noting that "we also possess minerals such as nickel." He added, "Since Korea is a country with technology, Ghana hopes to conduct critical mineral exploration together with Korea and achieve enhanced results in the value chain."
The two leaders signed a Climate Change Cooperation Agreement, along with MOUs on Technology, Digital, and Innovation Development Cooperation and Maritime Security Cooperation. Regarding the Maritime Security Cooperation MOU, President Mahama stated, "Since piracy activities are still frequent in the Gulf of Guinea, it would be good if we could establish a joint framework with Korea regarding piracy activities in the Gulf of Guinea."
Cheong Wa Dae placed a specially produced "Ghana Chocolate" gift set at President Mahama's accommodation. The product uses more than 80% Ghanaian cacao beans. The chocolate packaging features both countries' national flags and President Mahama's name. Additionally, Samsung Electronics' latest smartphone, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and a folk painting titled "Naval Training Drill" were presented as gifts.
President Mahama, who arrived in Korea the previous day, is scheduled to stay in the country for five days until June 14.
