A few days ago, I watched with excitement a video of His Excellency Frederik Landshöft, the German Ambassador’s New Year message. In the message, he threw his support behind the Ghana Black Stars and the German national team in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup to take place from 11^th to 19^th July 2026 across sixteen cities in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.

The social media message largely placed a focus on Ghana’s bilateral relations with Germany this year. He expressed his pleasure about the new energy the year has started with in addition to the feeling of real momentum and movement in Ghana and in Ghana – Germany bilateral relations, noting that partnership is not only about words, rather about shared interest and direction.

Prior to this video, I had the privilege of meeting Ambassador Landshöft in his office to discuss the direction of the German mission under his leadership and initiatives to help in strengthening the friendship between the two countries. Very welcoming with exceptional communication skills, Ambassador Landshöft elaborated on the priorities of the German Embassy in Accra this year.

“We will continue to work closely with Ghanaian partners, both public and private as well as friends in deepening the thriving bilateral relations between Ghana and Germany. We will be looking at security not only in Ghana but also across the West African sub region, economic partnerships that will create jobs for the teeming Ghanaian youth and strong connections between our people, Ghanaians and Germans. These are some of the elements to guide my work as Head of the German mission in Ghana”, he expounded.

People-to-people engagement is a fundamental component of modern bilateral relations and it involves direct interaction between citizens through various avenues such as cultural exchanges, education, sports, tourism, and academic cooperation, aiming to foster mutual understanding, trust, and long-term friendship. Ambassador Landshöft indicated his excitement about such moments and stated that he was looking forward to the international friendly match between the Black Stars and the German team on 30^th March 2026 in Stuttgart, Germany.

In the area of economic ties between Ghana and Germany, the Ambassador shared some very relevant business-to-business trade figures. “We witnessed remarkable growth in trade between Germany and Ghana last year. From January to September 2025, Ghana imported goods worth €274.9 million from Germany, representing a 28.8% increase compared to the previous year. The main import goods were machinery, food chemical products, motor vehicles and parts. Over the same period, exports from Ghana to Germany amounted to € 290,4 million. One of the main export goods was cocoa, which increased by 54.2%. The potential is truly immense, and I am confident this is only the start.”, he accentuated.

This year will witness some specific initiatives by Germany in Ghana. In the area of agriculture, the new Private Sector Innovation Project that officially started in January 2026 focuses on agricultural processing and value addition. Additionally, regional projects target sustainable cocoa production and the development of cashew and rice value chains. Public-private partnerships are fostering value chains, such as sourcing raw materials like shea from northern Ghana for processing in the south.

“The portfolio contains projects that contribute to Ghana’s ambitious 24h-Economy, the Agribusiness strategy, the 1 Million Coder Programme, and the concept for becoming West Africa’s regional vaccines hub among others. In TVET, we support shaping demand-oriented well-trained young people for the economy, in Ghana and Germany. Additionally, we have the Energy and Governance projects cluster which aid in improving the framework conditions for investments and business development”, he added.

According to the Ambassador, the German – Ghanaian partnership is growing in importance, committed to corporation, opportunity and sustainable progress. In line with this, Accra will be hosting the 6^th German – African Business Summit (GABS) 2026 from 23rd to 25th November 2026, the premier German business event in Africa which gathers over 1,000 leaders to discuss partnerships, economic trends, and market opportunities. This year’s theme is “The Future of Africa – German Business Relations in a Changing World: More Opportunities Than Challenges!?”.

The relations between Ghana and Germany are strong, stable, and continually deepening, more modern and future-oriented than ever. It is built on mutual respect, shared democratic values, and long-standing cooperation in multilateral forums such as the United Nations (UN), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the G20 Compact with Africa, a G-20 endorsed platform dedicated to mobilizing private investment in Africa.