Ambassador’s Remarks at the U.S.-Ghana FIRST Partnership
Virtual
February 25, 2022
Greetings Honorable Ministers, Commissioners, Deputy Assistant Secretaries, and other distinguished participants in today’s launch;
all protocols observed:
It’s a pleasure to help launch the U.S.-Ghana FIRST Partnership today, alongside colleagues from across the U.S. and Ghanaian governments, and even beyond, with Japan joining us as well.
The United States and Ghana have collaborated on important nuclear safety and security matters for more than a decade – both bilaterally and through the International Atomic Energy Agency. We’ve built strong relationships between key counterpart agencies and shared expertise between personnel.
I was privileged to witness the signing of our bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on July13, 2021. That was a virtual event, like this one. This MOU opens opportunities for broader civil nuclear cooperation and led to this launch event today.
Clean, reliable, and safe nuclear energy can provide significant benefits to Ghana and the Ghanaian people – including clean energy, agricultural improvements, clean water, advanced medical treatments, and more.
The climate crisis is serious and urgent. Clean and safe nuclear energy, like what we’re working on today, must be part of the energy transition away from fossil fuels. And I commend the Government of Ghana for the forum held last week on the energy transition.
In the Leaders’ Summit on Climate, the Biden-Harris administration highlighted the FIRST program as one of the United States’ key efforts to promote innovation in bringing clean technologies to scale and building unprecedented global cooperation to confront the climate crisis.
FIRST will provide a platform to exchange best practices and build capacity as Ghana develops its nuclear energy under the highest international standards for nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation.
From stakeholder engagement to licensing and regulation, among other key topics, FIRST will bring American and Ghanaian experts together, enhancing our strong cooperation, in this important field.
FIRST brings a broad range of U.S. and international resources to the table – from the U.S. Departments of Energy, Commerce, and State to our nuclear regulatory experts, our national lab network, industry, and academia.
I’m confident that this partnership will be fruitful for Ghanaian and U.S. stakeholders, for the nuclear landscape, and most importantly, to help meet the energy needs of the people and industries of Ghana into the future. My team and I look forward to working together to implement the highest international safety, security, and nonproliferation standards while being responsible stewards of our planet.
