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.

Being my first engagement with Ambassador Linulf since arriving in Ghana late last year, it was an opportunity to congratulate the Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog recipient in 2020 on his posting to Ghana and wish him well on his duty tour in Ghana. We discussed the current state of Denmark – Ghana bilateral relations and the way forward.

Ambassador Linulf acknowledged the thriving relationship between Denmark and Ghana over the years and indicated his task to deepening the relationship between the two “like-minded” countries by focusing on strengthening cooperation in key areas such as research, agriculture, renewable energy and sustainable development.

In recent times, relations between the two countries have transitioned from a purely traditional aid-based partnership to a robust, strategic economic cooperation focused on trade, sustainable development, and sector-specific collaborations in strategic areas including maritime, water, climate, and statistics, under the Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC) initiative.

“In addition, there were some high-level visits including Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in November 2021, to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations. During the visit, she met Ghana’s President, visited Tema Port, and inspected the Danish frigate Esbern Snare. This was followed by a 2023 agreement focusing on green, sustainable growth and peace in West Africa,” Ambassador Linulf emphasized.

Having previously served in China and Pakistan, Ambassador Linulf mentioned that the Ghanaian assignment would be focused on areas where Ghana will be willing to expand and work with Denmark. He further revealed he is not new to Ghana as he once lived in Burkina Faso and made several trips to Ghana during the period. He is happy to be back in Ghana, this time as the Ambassador of Denmark in Ghana.

Ambassador Linulf added that “when it comes to sustainability, Denmark has gone through quite a transformation from depending on import of crude oil and fossil based energy to having a society now solely based on renewable sources, energy efficient and we are happy to share this expertise with Ghana for a win-win situation. We see some great news and signs from Ghana and we will continue with our active support to maintain the peace and stability in Ghana and the broader West African region”.

Remarkably, Ghana and Denmark have a common shared vision, both as firm believers in democracy, trade and investment, which serves as a very strong foundation for the partnership between the two countries.  In November 2023, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further strengthen political dialogue and cooperation in key sectors for targeted partnership.

“We are happy to see the efforts by the Ghanaian government to create an enabling environment and policies for local and foreign businesses in Ghana. This will help to consolidate the gains made over the years and lead to an increase in Danish investments in Ghana. As part of our partnership in trade, we want to encourage and see an increase in the free flow of goods to help improve the trade volume between our two countries. I can mention our investments in the maritime sector, specifically at the Tema port to help handle more and larger cargo coming into Ghana. In addition, we want to see the shipping industry going towards zero emission, a shift from using heavy fuel to greener fuel through our support”, he added.

In wrapping up our conversation, the Ambassador lauded the strategic collaboration in the health sector through partners such as Novo Nordisk, in supporting Ghana’s healthcare, particularly in diabetes care for children and called for more prominence in the sector. According to him, unlike Denmark, Ghanaian cities lack the layout to make it easy for exercises on the streets, leading to some alarming trends in Ghana when it comes to obesity and diabetes in recent times.