The Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Iddie Adams, on Friday, December 12 received H.E. Tong Defa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Ghana, in a courtesy call aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation in sport infrastructure development, talent exchange, and technical partnerships.
In a warm and forward-looking conversation, Mr. Adams acknowledged China’s long-standing support to Ghana’s development journey, including investments in infrastructure, mining, agribusiness, and technology.
He commended China’s cultural resilience and its global leadership in sports like table tennis.
“I have been to China a number of times and what strikes me is how you’ve protected your traditional values while driving innovation. We admire your model and believe Ghana can learn a lot from it.”
He briefed the Ambassador on Ghana’s current sports sector reforms under the guidance of President John Dramani Mahama, particularly the school sports revival agenda, which places grassroots development at the heart of future elite performance.
The Minister expressed strong interest in exploring public-private partnerships (PPPs) with China to rehabilitate and construct multi-purpose sports courts, especially across schools and districts.
He also proposed structured technical exchange programmes between Ghanaian and Chinese coaches, especially in table tennis, to accelerate athlete development.
Further areas discussed included capacity building opportunities for Ghanaian technical officers and directors, leveraging Chinese sports infrastructure models to reshape Ghana’s grassroots systems, ongoing training support through the ITTF-Ghana table tennis programme in China, and opportunities under the Africa–China People-to-People Exchange Year in 2026.
On his part, Ambassador H.E. Tong Defa emphasised China’s readiness to expand collaboration with Ghana, citing successful relationships in other sectors and reiterating the value of sport in diplomacy.
He highlighted ongoing platforms such as the Confucius Institute, Cape Coast Stadium, and Chinese scholarship programmes as examples of mutually beneficial cooperation.
The two sides agreed to explore a structured bilateral framework that will guide future engagements in sport and recreation, focusing on youth development, infrastructure, and talent mobility.
Ghana continues to position itself as a trusted partner in Africa’s sport diplomacy drive and this meeting marks another step forward in building sustainable, people-centred partnerships.