Five Envoys accredited to Ghana on Monday presented their letters of credence to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House to begin their duty tour of Ghana.
The envoys are Guinea’s Ambassador, Jean Marti Doré, Canadian High Commissioner, Martine Moreau, New Zealand High Commissioner, Michel Ian Uptom, Bangladesh High Commissioner, Mohammed Shahdst Hossain, and Mauritanian High Commissioner, Mohamed Abdellahi Khattra.
At the Ceremonial room, the foreign envoys congratulated President Akufo-Addo on his leadership in the achievement of global peace and security demonstrated through the UN Security Council, the Accra Initiative and the Ghanaian participation in UN peace Keeping operations.
The Guinean Ambassador, Jean Matho Doré said his country has had good relations with Ghana, especially during the fight against colonial imperialism, which gave hope to many countries who were under foreign dominance.
“Guinea was a cradle of the anti-colonial fight,” the Guinea Ambassador noted, and expressed delight that his country played a key role in Africa’s emancipation.
Jean Doré said the strong will demonstrated by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah with his Guinea counterpart, Ahmed Sékou Touré during the liberation struggle is very present in the minds of the Guinean people.
He assured to work even harder during his stay in “this beautiful country” to make his country better known and to help bring to fruition the vision of these two great men, what they envisaged and so desired.
The collaboration between the two leaders, according to him, means that the two countries have no choice but to undertake true cooperation that would yield a diversity of opportunities in education, energy, transportation, economy, health, and tourism…amongst others.
It is imperative, however, the Guinea Ambassador indicated that the two countries establish a cooperation committee, that would further work to deepen the existing cooperation between Ghana and Guinea.
On his part, President Akufo-Addo said he was inspired by the strong will, determination and dynamism expressed by the Guinean Ambassador to further deepen the historic relationship between Ghana and Guinea.
The President said post the independence struggle, relations between the two countries have remained strong and hoped that Ambassador Jean’s stay would further deepen that excellent relations.
He said Ghana acknowledged Guinea’s circumstances and difficulties which have led to its suppression from the ECOWAS Membership and expressed Ghana’s determination to work harder to ensure Guinea’s full integration into the West African bloc.
The Canadian High Commissioner, Martine Moreau, who was impressed with the level of welcome received, said Ghana and Canada enjoy “excellent relations” particularly on shared common values such as democracy, the rule of law, peace and security.
She said the two countries had been working over the past years, especially on issues of increasing women’s participation in peacekeeping operations.
Martine Moreau congratulated Ghana, which is to host the UN Peace Keeping Ministerial Conference, expected to actively discuss women’s participation in peacekeeping initiatives.
On Ghana’s prospects, she said Canada is committed to the “Ghana Beyond Aid” programme and would continue to partner with the country to deal with issues surrounding women’s empowerment for economic development such as in health, nutrition and agriculture.
Trade between the countries, she said, is key to the partnership, where Ghana is Canada’s third export market in sub-Saharan Africa, a move she assured to intensify and increase during her stay here in Ghana.
“I believe that our bilateral trade is half a billion Dollars a year but we could be doing a lot more in trade and exploring other trade avenues”, especially in mining, and energy technology…among others.
President Akufo-Addo commended her predecessor for the enormous work in matters of peace and security and the deepening of economic ties between the two countries and hoped that Martine Moreau would even do more.
Importantly, he said, mining companies in Ghana are controlled by the Canadian stock exchange in Toronto, a move “that shows you the level of intercourse” between the two countries when it comes to trade and investments.
He called for an increase in Canadian investments in Ghana, describing the Ghanaian business environment as “a business-friendly one.”
On security, President Akufo-Addo stressed one of the important matters threatening Ghana, which is the Sahel and Jihadist insurgence in Ghana’s northern border country—Burkina Faso.
He said security at Ghana’s borders with Burkina Faso had been heightened to prevent these insurgents from penetrating the country’s borders into Ghana, a decision which had come at a huge cost to the government, amidst the economic difficulties confronting the country.
The President said though Ghana appreciated the assistance so far received from Canada and other notable countries, more increased assistance to help fight this insurgency would be welcomed.
President Akufo-Addo congratulated the five envoys on their appointments to “our great country” and hoped that their duty tour of Ghana as foreign envoys would be fruitful and beneficial to all the countries.
The President expressed appreciation for the support of the various countries to Ghana and assured them of his commitment to strengthening the bilateral relations between Ghana and their respective countries.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
