A United States (US) Congressional delegation, led by the House Minority Leader and Leader of the House Democratic Caucus in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Sekou Jefferies, has paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in Accra. This forms part of its working visit to the country. ‘The purpose of the visit is to reaffirm the strong ties of co-operation and friendship that exist between our two countries,’ a Facebook post by the President noted. It is also to build on the recent successful visit to the country by the US Vice-President, Kamala Harris. The US and Ghana share a long history of promoting democracy, human rights, and the Rule of Law, which dates back to 1957, following Ghana’s independence from the United Kingdom (UK). Through the US International Visitor Leadership Programme, for instance, Ghanaian officials have become acquainted with US congressional and state legislative practices and have participated in programmes designed to address other issues of interest. The US State Department, on the relations between the two countries, says the ‘US goals in Ghana are to spur economic growth through increased trade and investment, invest in people, promote peace and regional security, and improve accountable governance and strengthen institutions.’ President Nana Akufo-Addo said while in the country, the ‘US delegation will also have the opportunity to visit a number of Ghanaian sites related to the transatlantic slave trade, recognising the inextricable and painful history that binds the people of our countries together.’ Prior to his election to the Congress, Sekou Jeffries served for six years in the New York State Assembly. In that capacity, he authored laws to protect the civil liberties of law-abiding New Yorkers during police encounters, encouraged the transformation of vacant luxury condominiums into affordable homes for working families and improved the quality of justice in the civil court system. In 2010, he successfully led the first meaningful legislative reform of the New York Police Department’s aggressive and controversial stop-and-frisk programme. Congressman Jeffries obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he graduated with honours for outstanding academic achievement. He then received his master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University. Thereafter, he attended New York University School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude and served on Law Review.

Source: Ghana News Agency