Ghana’s president has said his country looks forward to cooperating with the Vatican to address the tough issues of climate crisis, human trafficking, as well as to promoting health and human dignity.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has highlighted that Ghana and the Vatican share the same principles of freedom of religion, adherence to the principles of human rights, democracy and the promotion of equality for all.

He was speaking at a celebration in Accra to mark the tenth anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Francis, noting that it was also the tenth anniversary of Ghana establishing a diplomatic mission at the Vatican and commissioning its first ambassador to the Holy See.

Yet he noted that relations between Ghana and the Catholic Church go back more than a century, with the Church being involved with and supporting Ghana's socio-economic development in various sectors of the country's development.

The Catholic Church, President Akufo-Addo said, has constructed some 5,000 basic schools, 80 senior high and technical schools, 13 colleges of education, two university colleges and one university.

He added that 49 hospitals, 94 clinics and 11 health training institutions also make the Catholic Church one of the nation's leading partners in the development of the healthcare sector.

Pope Francis, according to the president, has spoken out courageously against a world filled with greed and has called for humanity to become a better garden of creation by protecting the environment.

“Ghanaians are looking forward to hosting Pope Francis’ visit in the near future on his round of visits to Africa”, he said, adding that “our present global situation challenges all of us to look to his vision and conviction as a man of peace”.