{ "id": "R45260", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R45260", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 602957, "date": "2019-07-25", "retrieved": "2019-07-30T22:07:56.037082", "title": "Ghana: Current Issues and U.S. Relations in Brief", "summary": "Ghana, a country of 28 million people on West Africa\u2019s Atlantic coast, faces diverse development challenges, but has built a robust democracy notable for consistent peaceful turnovers of executive power since a transition to multiparty rule in the early 1990s. The country also has made progress toward many of the socioeconomic outcomes that successive U.S. administrations have sought to foster in Africa, and U.S. policymakers have tended to view Ghana as a stable U.S. partner in an often volatile region. Substantial U.S. bilateral aid has both been premised on and arguably contributed to Ghana\u2019s generally positive development trajectory.\nAmicable relations between the United States and Ghana, a former British colony, have persisted since 1957, when Ghana became the first colonized sub-Saharan African country to gain independence. In 2008, then-President George W. Bush visited Ghana to showcase U.S. aid programs on trade, entrepreneurship, health, education, and Ghana\u2019s first Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact. In 2009, then-President Barack Obama traveled to Ghana to highlight the nation as a democratic model for other African countries. \nThe Trump Administration has not pursued any major policy shifts toward Ghana, but bilateral ties have recently come under strain with imposition, in early 2019, of selected visa sanctions on Ghanaian nationals by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In practice, the sanctions\u2014imposed in response to reported noncooperation with U.S. immigration law enforcement proceedings and deportation orders\u2014mean that U.S. consular officials are restricting the issuance of certain U.S. visas to Ghanaian citizens. The Administration also has proposed sharp cuts in bilateral aid as part of its emphasis on reducing foreign assistance, which could affect relations.\nDuring the Obama Administration, U.S. aid to Ghana was provided primarily under U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-administered global presidential development initiatives. These included Feed the Future (FTF, a global food security effort), the Global Health Initiative (GHI), the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI), and several Africa-specific initiatives: Power Africa, Trade Africa, and the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). In 2014 Ghana signed a second MCC compact focused on the electrical power sector. Ghana was also selected to join the Obama Administration\u2019s African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership (APRRP) and its Security Governance Initiative (SGI), both launched in 2014. Ghana is a key international peacekeeping troop contributor in Africa, and engages in regular joint military training exercises and other security cooperation with the United States.\nAccording to a March 2019 State Department fact sheet on U.S.-Ghana relations, the United States and Ghana \u201cshare a long history promoting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law,\u201d and Ghana is a model for other African countries \u201cin promoting resilient democratic institutions, transparent and peaceful transitions of power and regional stability.\u201d There have also been robust \u201cpeople-to-people\u201d relations since the late 1950s, notably in the form of learning exchange visits and cooperation among educational and scientific institutions, and thousands of Ghanaians have been educated in the United States. There are close cultural ties, notably between Ghanaians and African-Americans; there is a substantial African-American expatriate community in Ghana.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45260", "sha1": "359795c62885dc77f6d1b97cbd0609a384b56457", "filename": "files/20190725_R45260_359795c62885dc77f6d1b97cbd0609a384b56457.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45260_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190725_R45260_images_89d3a9b36d8b0a6f5562d21851e7de12bed495c2.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45260", "sha1": "05b7abd0bb646050c9ededb01e8805dfe630736e", "filename": "files/20190725_R45260_05b7abd0bb646050c9ededb01e8805dfe630736e.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4879, "name": "Sub-Saharan Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 582902, "date": "2018-07-18", "retrieved": "2018-07-19T13:40:24.397986", "title": "Ghana: Current Issues and U.S. Relations in Brief", "summary": "Ghana, a country of 27.5 million people on West Africa\u2019s Atlantic coast, faces diverse development challenges, but has built a robust democracy notable for consistent peaceful turnovers of executive power since a transition to multiparty rule in the early 1990s. The country also has made progress toward many of the socioeconomic outcomes that successive U.S. administrations have sought to foster in Africa, and U.S. policymakers have tended to view Ghana as a stable U.S. partner in an often volatile region. Substantial U.S. bilateral aid has both been premised on and arguably contributed to Ghana\u2019s generally positive development trajectory.\nAmicable relations between the United States and Ghana, a former British colony, have persisted since 1957, when Ghana became the first colonized sub-Saharan African country to gain independence. In 2008, then-President George W. Bush visited Ghana to showcase U.S. aid programs on trade, entrepreneurship, health, education, and Ghana\u2019s first Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact. In 2009, then-President Barack Obama traveled to Ghana to highlight the nation as a democratic model for other African countries. The Trump Administration has signaled support for continued close cooperation, although there has been some recent tension over reported Ghanaian noncooperation with U.S. immigration law enforcement proceedings. The Administration also has proposed sharp cuts in bilateral aid as part of its overall emphasis on reducing foreign assistance, which could impact relations.\nUnder the Obama Administration, U.S. aid to Ghana was provided primarily under U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-administered global presidential development initiatives. These included Feed the Future (FTF, a global food security effort), the Global Health Initiative (GHI), the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI), and several Africa-specific initiatives: Power Africa, Trade Africa, and the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). In 2014 Ghana signed a second MCC compact focused on the electrical power sector. Ghana was also selected to join the Obama Administration\u2019s African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership (APRRP) and its Security Governance Initiative (SGI), both launched in 2014. Ghana is a key international peacekeeping troop contributor in Africa, and engages in regular joint military training exercises and other security cooperation with the United States.\nAccording to the State Department, the United States and Ghana \u201cshare a long history promoting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law,\u201d and Ghana is a model for its peers throughout Africa \u201cin promoting resilient democratic institutions, transparent and peaceful transitions of power and regional stability.\u201d There have also been robust \u201cpeople-to-people\u201d relations since the late 1950s, notably in the form of learning exchange visits and cooperation among educational and scientific institutions, and thousands of Ghanaians have been educated in the United States. There are close cultural ties, notably between Ghanaians and African-Americans; there is a substantial African-American expatriate community in Ghana. \nDespite generally amicable relations, In June 2018, the United States threatened to impose visa restrictions on Ghana due to reportedly insufficient Ghanaian cooperation regarding U.S. deportations of Ghanaians who violate U.S. immigration laws\u2014an issue of particular salience for the Trump Administration. According to a June 2018 State Department release, Ghana regularly \u201cfails to meet\u201d its international civil aviation treaty obligations by not interviewing or providing travel documents to Ghanaians who are deported from the United States.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45260", "sha1": "cf336e2767414cad334f53b1eb547c23d6f33958", "filename": "files/20180718_R45260_cf336e2767414cad334f53b1eb547c23d6f33958.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45260_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180718_R45260_images_3dd682ac4d4943b20d7c1388d2f4a4f9d0791062.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45260", "sha1": "778ce948ef60f6575d7e2cdad176e79ce3e070b4", "filename": "files/20180718_R45260_778ce948ef60f6575d7e2cdad176e79ce3e070b4.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "African Affairs", "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "National Defense" ] }