Dr. Kark Asmah, a Japan trained Economist, is the first Acting Director of the Multilateral Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana.

Born on 30th December, 1956, he had his pre-university education in Sekondi-Takoradi (birth-place) and Cape Coast (his hometown). Dr. Asmah obtained both a Bachelor's Degree in 1983 in Economics, and a Masters Degree in 1985 in International Economics, at the Internationals Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, Japan. In 1988, he was awarded a Doctorate Degree (PhD) in International Business in the United States of America (USA), after entering a doctoral research programme in Japan.

From 1985 - 1988, he worked with some Japanese Companies, including the electronics giants, NEC and Toshiba. In April 1989, on return to Ghana, he was recruited at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, and in September 1989, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dr. Asmah has served in Ghana's Mission in concurrently accredited to Serbia and Montenegro, He has also participated in diplomatic programmes in Germany, China and Japan.

Dr. Asmah is fluent in English, Japanese and German. He loves sports, traveling and reading. He is married with six children (4 sons and 2 daughters).

Introduction
In May 2006, the Multilateral Cooperation Bureau (MCB) was created when the functions of the former Economic Trade and Investment Bureau (ECTIB) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and NEPAD (MFA), was split into three (Bilateral, Multilateral and Trade and Investment Bureaux), and placed under the newly created Economic Relations Department.

Mandate
The MCB is mandated to oversee economic issues of the Ministry that involves more than two countries or multiple stakeholders.

Mission
The mission of MCB is to ensure that Ghana derives maximum benefits from multilateral cooperation, to bring to fruition her domestic economic development agenda, while actively participating in regional, continental and global economic issues.

Functions
The function of the Bureau is to ensure that the Ministry takes centre stage in multilateral economic issues, and to work closely with other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), through coordination and harmonization of Ghana's socio-economic development policies, aimed at raising the quality of life of her citizenry.

Genesis of MCB
Hitherto, ECTIB concentrated on bilateral issues, placed little emphasis on trade and investment, while relegating multilateral co-operation issues to the relevant MDAs. This approach was in stark contrast with the accepted norm where a country's Foreign Ministry was supposed to be spearheading multilateral cooperation issues.

General role of MCB
Presently, it has dawned on all institutions in the country that multilateral issues if well managed places a country's development agenda in the right perspective globally. Appropriately, the MCB has taken up that challenge.

Specialized Role of MCB
Admittedly, it is now paramount for MCB to prosecute a high profile agenda, to help uplift the Ministry's image in global economic issues, notably GPRS II (Ghana), regional and African integration, World Trade Organisation (WTO), ECOSOC, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UNMDGs), African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) - European Union (EU), to help propel Ghana into a middle-income country with a per capita income of US$1,000 by 2015.

Historical Perspective
In times past, most developing countries considered multilateral cooperation issues within the framework of ECOSOC (the Economic and Social Council), which primarily deals with economic, social, cultural, and health matters, as well as human rights and fundamental freedoms. This type of approach called for a government led economic development programme, facilitated on aid and grant.

The ECOSOC period became known as the lost decades, as most developing countries failed to make their economic policies have any positive impact in their national lives.

Liberalization and the WTO
During the end of the last millennium, it dawned on the international community to shift its policies from aid and controlled economic development policies to that of laissez faire (free) global competition, in production and trade. Economic liberalization that thrives on private sector development, has therefore become the accepted policies that are seen as bringing prosperity, peace and stability to mankind.

To this end, trade issues handled by the WTO(the World Trade Organization) has become pertinent to all global economic issues. Simply stated, WTO issues underpin all multilateral issues.

The main goal of the WTO is to enhance the wellbeing of all participating countries, by helping producers of goods and services importers and exporters to carry out their trading activities as freely as possible, by reducing trade restricting measures or practices, and encouraging competition.

Expected Role of MCB
MCB functions are:
(a) To fully participate in Ghana's Poverty Reduction Strategy II which is to exam- ine the programmes, policies and investments that it would take to pull Ghana up to the status of a middle- income economy.

(b) Rationalization of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Integration in Africa.

(c) To be an active stakeholder in WTO issues.

(d) To ensure that GPRS II is well imple- mented to enable Ghana attain all the eight (8) United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015:

i hunger eradication;
ii universal primary education achievement;
iii reducing child mortality;
iv improving maternal health;
v combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
vi promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women;
vii improving literacy;
viii ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.
(e) Engage in proposed negotiations that are premised on the shared need to have reciprocal EU-ACP trade arrangements that are transparent, non-discriminatory and WTO-compatible, and to deal with Ghana, ECOWAS and ACP states' challenges of sustainable develop- ment/growth and integration into the world trading system in a more vigor ous way. The new arrangement is in the form of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), and will result in the formation of a free trade area between ACP states and the EU.

Recommendations
To ensure that MCB becomes a viable bureau in the Ministry, as well as actively involved in Ghana's multilateral co-operation diplomacy, the Bureau will have to be equipped by upgrading its capacity. Officers at the Bureau will have to participate in WTO and UNCTAD workshops, seminars, conferences, courses etc., to enable them become experts in trade matters.

Similarly, the same approach should be adopted for ACP-EU issues.

Consequently, our Mission in Geneva should be informed of the Ministry's requirements to enable them involve the Ministry in the activities of the WTO and UNCTAD at their headquarters in Geneva and around the world. Our Mission in Brussels should do likewise for ACP-EU issues.

Conclusion
It would be recalled that, the Ministry and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and PSI have resolved to intensify their involvement in global trade matters, particular at the WTO, to reap maximum benefits for Ghana, to enable the country to be fully-integrated into the global market.