Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Mr. Bert Koenders, visited Ghana from 15 to 16 April 2016 on behalf of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini. Mr. Koenders led a team to discuss with Ghanaian counterparts issues in the framework of the Ghana-EU High Level Dialogue on Migration.

As part of his visit, Mr. Koenders met with Ghana's Minister of the Interior, Mr. Prosper Bani and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Hanna Tetteh.

He thanked the Government of Ghana for her hospitality and highlighted the good partnership between the EU and Ghana.

Mr. Koenders welcome the recent adoption of the National Migration Policy for Ghana, providing the framework for addressing migration in line with Ghana's sustainable development objectives.

He recalled the Valletta Summit of November 2015 as a fair and balanced approach to migration agreed upon by African and European Union leaders and highlighted the convergence of the Valletta Action Plan and the National Migration Policy as a good basis to build concrete cooperation measures.

The Minister underlined the necessity of a swift implementation of the Valletta Action Plan initiatives aimed inter alia at enhancing mobility for students, skilled workers and entrepreneurs stressing that "irregular migration costs many lives and puts young people at the mercy of unscrupulous traffickers. This is why curbing irregular migration is a priority for both the European Union and Ghana as well as for the wider region".

"Migration should be based on mobility mechanisms which take into account respect for human rights. At the same time reinforced efforts on border management and increased speed
and efficiency of procedures for return and readmission are needed", he stated.

Mr. Koenders recalled the current financial support provided by the EU in terms of programmes for addressing the root causes of irregular migration, providing assistance to the Ghanaian authorities in developing and implementing migration policies for migration management, and fostering regional cooperation on this crucial matter.

He stressed that the high level mission on Migration confirms the common effort to tackle migration challenges.