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RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #0474/01 0591759
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281759Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3838
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0198
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 0625
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0081

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 000474 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC EAID ECON ETRD GH PGOV PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: GHANA AT 50: U.S.-GHANA RELATIONS 
 
REF: A. ACCRA 285 
 
     ¶B. ACCRA 286 
     ¶C. ACCRA 314 
     ¶D. ACCRA 321 
 
ACCRA 00000474  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
 ¶1. (U) Summary:  This is the fifth in a series of scene 
setter cables focusing on Ghana at 50.  Despite periods of 
friction in our relations, Ghana and the U.S. have had 
strong, positive ties for the past decade and are now at an 
all-time high.  Ghana is a reliable, democratic partner for 
the U.S. in peacekeeping, conflict resolution, 
counter-terrorism, and economic development.  U.S. interests 
center on support for Ghana's fifteen-year-old democracy, the 
promotion of open markets and poverty reduction, security 
cooperation and enhanced people-to-people ties.  Our 
bilateral relationship will be increasingly important in 
light of Ghana's growing global leadership position.  End 
summary. 
 
----------------- 
The Ups and Downs 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Ghana,s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, made a 10-day 
visit to the United States in 1958, meeting President 
Eisenhower and promoting his new country.  However, relations 
progressively soured over financing of the large U.S. 
investment in the Akosombo Dam and Nkrumah's socialist 
ideology.  Nkrumah was a founding member of the non-alignment 
movement that was frequently at odds with the U.S.  He 
developed close ties with the Soviet Union, Cuba and Libya. 
Our aid program dropped from $60 million at its peak to less 
than $3 million in 1966, when Nkrumah was overthrown. 
 
¶3.  (U) In the next two decades, Ghana experienced five 
military coups and numerous coup attempts.  During this time, 
Ghana turned to the West at times for assistance, and at 
other times to the Soviet Bloc.  Prime Minister Kofi A. Busia 
(1969-1972) was notable for drawing close to the West, with 
strong bilateral relations with the United States.  J.J. 
Rawlings seized power for the second time in 1981.  In the 
mid-80s, relations were strained by a series of diplomatic 
incidents and Rawlings' close ties with Libya. 
 
¶4.  (U) In 1992, with the Cold War over, Ghana transitioned 
to democracy, adopting a new constitution.  Ghana also turned 
increasingly to Western donors and the IMF/World Bank for 
economic assistance.  In the context of these changes, 
President Rawlings made an official visit to the U.S. in 
1995, the first visit by a Ghanaian head of state in more 
than thirty years.  President Clinton reciprocated in 1998, 
the first and only sitting U.S. President to visit Ghana. 
This was the beginning of a warming relationship with the 
United States that has only grown stronger under President 
John Kufuor. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Current U.S.- Ghana Foreign Relations 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Ghana-U.S. relations are now at an all time high. 
President Kufuor has met President Bush seven times, former 
President Carter three times, and hosted the successful visit 
to Ghana of First Lady Laura Bush in January 2006.  In his 
February 2007 State of the Nation address, President Kufuor 
mentioned the United States three times, in reference to the 
Millennium Challenge Compact, the upcoming AGOA Forum, and 
private sector U.S. energy firms (the only other foreign 
country mentioned in his speech was China). As further 
evidence of these growing ties, seven Cabinet ministers 
attended our Fourth of July reception in 2006 -- the best 
attendance in recent memory. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  A 2006 Opinion Analysis report by the Department's 
Office of Research found that 70 percent of Ghanaians have a 
positive opinion of the United States and that this figure 
has been consistent over the past three years.   A separate 
2006 Office of Research survey found that Ghanaians most 
admire America's economic success, technological achievements 
and political system, although support for U.S global 
leadership dropped 15 points between 2004 and 2006. 
 
 
ACCRA 00000474  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶7.  (U)  Key building blocks of the broad U.S.-Ghana 
relationship are: supporting democracy, encouraging economic 
growth and trade, improving health care and education 
services, and enhancing security cooperation. 
 
¶8. (U) Governance:  The United States supported the 2004 
election with 50 teams of Embassy observers and over $1 
million in assistance to the Electoral Commission and NGOs. 
We have a small Democracy and Human Rights Fund grant program 
and plan to train the udiciary and police in 
anti-trafficking in persos.  USAID has a program to 
strengthen parliamentand local government.  We sent five 
Supreme Court justices on an International Visitor program. 
We have organized regular roundtables for human rights 
activists and hosted events to support a greater role for 
Ghanaian women.  For the past fifteen years, we have provided 
counternarcotics training and equipment as well as community 
and basic police training. 
 
¶9. (U) USG Assistance:  For a number of years, Ghana has 
received substantial levels of USG assistance, including 
approximately $50-$60 million annually from USAID focused on 
health, education, HIV/AIDS, trade and investment, democracy 
and governance.  The USG has provided an additional $10-$25 
million annually for other programs including Peace Corps and 
security cooperation.  On August 1, 2006 Ghana signed a $547 
million Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Compact, the 
largest-ever such agreement, focused on accelerating growth 
and reducing poverty through private sector-led 
agri-business.  The agreement entered into force on February 
16, 2007 and approximately $50 million is expected to be 
disbursed under the agreement in 2007.  The Peace Corps 
launched its first program in the world in Ghana in 1961.  It 
now has around 140 volunteers in Ghana each year. 
 
¶10. (U) Trade:  The U.S. and Ghana have a relatively dynamic 
trade relationship.  U.S. exports to Ghana in 2006 were 
approximately $289.7 million, down from a high of $338 
million in 2005.  With the exception of the decrease in 2006, 
U.S. trade with Ghana has experienced steady growth for the 
past five years and is expected to continue to grow.  Ghana 
is consistently the fifth or sixth largest market in 
sub-Saharan Africa for U.S. goods.  U.S. imports are equal to 
about $14 per capita, which is equivalent to about 3.5 
percent of GDP per capita.  The U.S. is the fifth largest 
foreign direct investor in Ghana, with major investments in 
mining, off-shore oil exploration and manufacturing 
(primarily food processing). 
 
¶11. (U) Security:  Ghana provides solid cooperation in 
counter-terrorism and has signed 12 of the 13 UN terrorism 
conventions.  We have a robust mil-mil relationship, in part 
as recognition of Ghana's outstanding contribution to 
peacekeeping (Ghana is the fourth largest contributor to UN 
peacekeeping forces worldwide) and to regional stability. 
Over the past few years, this has included dozens of Flag 
Officer visits, assistance to the Kofi Annan International 
Peacekeeping Center, several major ship visits, and a State 
Partnership program with North Dakota. 
 
¶12. (U) Public Diplomacy:  The Embassy has had an active 
Muslim outreach program for several years, with about $12 
million in USG assistance each year focused on Muslim 
communities.  We have an American Corner in Tamale, a largely 
Muslim city in Northern Region.  We have also forged a number 
of new partnerships between Ghanaian and U.S. universities 
and polytechnics.  Embassy Accra has the second largest 
Fulbright program in Africa and the third largest number of 
Humphrey alumni in the world.  Ghana is home to the W.E.B. 
DuBois Centre, which commemorates W.E.B. DuBois, who lived in 
Ghana at the end of his life and was buried here.  The 
Embassy enjoys close relations with the DuBois Centre and has 
provided it with assistance.  There are also approximately 
5,000 registered American citizens living in Ghana and 
people-to-people ties are very strong. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Multilateral Diplomacy:  Ghana has shown global 
leadership in ECOWAS, as a non-permanent member of the UN 
Security Council, on the UN Human Rights Council and on the 
International Atomic Energy Agency Board.  In the past year, 
the GOG has supported the United States on a number of issues 
coming before these international organizations, including 
 
ACCRA 00000474  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
support for sanctions on Iran, endorsement of Guatemala 
(versus Venezuela) for a UNSC seat, and criticism of Burma's 
human rights record.  Ghana's commitment to peace and 
democracy in Africa and globally are consistent with and 
often support USG interests.  Nonetheless, past support on UN 
votes has been disappointing.  In 2005, Ghana supported the 
USG on UN votes 14.9% of the time (20% on important votes to 
us), which is worse than the global average of 25% and 
slightly lower than in 2004, according to the Department's 
2005 report on UN Voting Practices. 
 
----------- 
Some Dissent 
------------ 
 
¶14. (SBU) Some contacts believe the US-Ghana relationship is 
underdeveloped.  For example, K.B. Asante, former head of the 
African Affairs Secretariat and career diplomat, stated that 
although Kufuor enjoys excellent relations with the U.S., he 
needs to do more to actively exploit the relationship. 
Asante went on to say Ghana,s problem was that it should 
study the U.S. economic model and methods and to duplicate 
them within Ghana for the long-term, rather than focusing 
narrowly on seuring aid money for the short term. 
 
¶15. (U) A sall minority has been critical of Kufuor's strongrelationship with the U.S.   James Victor Gbeho, aformer 
foreign minister in the revious National Democratic Congress 
(NDC) government, criticized the NPP for being too close to 
the U.S.  As examples he cited the GOG's decision not to 
speak out against U.S. policy in Iraq as well as its 
agreement not to prosecute U.S. military personnel under 
Ghanaian law for crimes committed in Ghana.  While the 
Ghanaian media is generally favorable and uncritical about 
the United States, a small group of Nkrumahists and 
Nkrumahist media consistently criticize the U.S. in strong 
dogmatic terms.  The NDC media is also frequently critical of 
the U.S.  Despite some level of criticism, NDC and other 
opposition leaders have told us repeatedly that, if in power, 
they would continue to seek strong positive ties with the 
United States. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶16.  (SBU)  As with any bilateral relationship, Ghana will 
not always agree with us.  There will continue to be 
irritants such as investment disputes, visa complaints, 
frustrations about narcotics trafficking and other issues. 
However, we expect these will stay manageable, even if the 
NDC wins in the 2008 election.  The new high in our 
relationship is paying dividends by supporting a relatively 
stable democracy in a troubled region.  Its importance will 
only grow with Ghana's increasing global leadership role, 
including its new position as Chair of the African Union. 
End comment. 
BRIDGEWATER