Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says Ghana and other African countries should pursue partnerships that serve their interests instead of being drawn into rivalries between global powers.

Speaking at a diplomatic side event in New York, he said growing demand for Africa’s critical minerals gave the continent an opportunity to negotiate on more equal terms.

“We don’t have to choose,” Mr Ablakwa said. “We will not be boxed into a corner. We will play smart.”

He invoked Ghana’s role in founding the Non-Aligned Movement and former President Kwame Nkrumah’s view that Ghana faced “neither east nor west” but “forward”.

Mr Ablakwa said Africa could not be left out of discussions about emerging technologies, given the minerals needed to support artificial intelligence, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

“For us in Africa, because of all of this new AI dispensation and the critical minerals required to drive that, you can’t have this discussion without Africa,” he said.

He said Ghana would weigh prospective agreements against its interests and values, the trust between partners and the terms on offer.

“We will look at who offers the best deal for the people we serve,” he said.

The minister urged African countries to use competition among potential partners to secure fairer agreements.

“We come to the table as equal partners,” he said. “If you don’t like our terms, there’s competition. There is another partner who will at least be more respectful and will be willing to negotiate and bargain properly with us.”

Mr Ablakwa also renewed calls for reform of the United Nations Security Council, saying Africa’s exclusion from its permanent membership failed to reflect the world as it is today.

“When the UN was created in 1945, a lot of us were colonies. We were not countries, independent states. We were not there. And you have kept this same structure for more than 80 years,” he said.

He argued that the lack of reform was undermining interest in the process to select the next UN Secretary-General.

Calling for Africa to have a permanent seat, Mr Ablakwa pointed to the African Union’s admission to the G20 during India’s presidency as an example the UN could follow.

“India did it. So the UN can do it,” he said.

He also called for the Security Council veto to be abolished, arguing that it had hampered the UN’s response to conflicts.

“Because of the veto, it has crippled this organisation,” he said. “Democratising the UN and abolishing the veto. It’s as simple as that.”