Mrs Sylvia Naa Adaawa Annoh, Denmark receiving her credentials from President Akufo-Addo. PICTURES BY SAMUEL TEI ADANO
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has presented credentials to 21 ambassadors and high commissioners to represent Ghana abroad, with a charge to them to facilitate and attract more foreign investments into the country as part of the COVID-19 economic recovery programme.
While 19 of them will be outside Ghana, two will be in Ghana as Ambassador-at-Large and Ambassador In Situ.
He said they should familiarise themselves with the Ghana CARES Obatanpa Programme, which represents Ghana’s path towards the revitalisation of the economy, and work to attain those objectives.
“You must familiarise yourselves with these objectives, which are at the core of my second term mandate. They represent our surest way out of the pandemic and which will press the country back onto the path of progress and prosperity, buoyed on by the rapid transformation of the structure of the economy,” the President added.
The appointment of 15 ambassadors and six high commissioners was through both political selection and diplomatic career paths.
Ambassadors
The new envoys are Ms Khadija Iddrisu, Zambia; Mr Kwabena Okubi-Appiah, Liberia; Oheneba Dr Lesley Akyaa Opoku-Ware, Russia; Lt General Obed Boamah Akwa (retd), Egypt, and Mr Charles Asuako Owiredu, South Africa.
Others are Mr Francis Danti Kotia, The Netherlands; Mrs Francisca Ashietey-Odunton,Turkey; Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, United Arab Emirates; Mr Napoleon Abdulai, Mali; Mrs Sylvia Naa Adaawa Annoh, Denmark, and Ms Barbara Akuorkor Benisa, Malta.
The list also has Hajia Alima Mahama, the United States of America; Mr Yakubu Alhassan, Namibia; Mr Samuel Yaw Nsiah, Cuba; Ms Christine Churcher, Benin; Mr Damptey Bediako Asare, Kenya; Alhaji Mohammad Habibu Tijani, Saudi Arabia, and Mrs Charis Obetsebi-Lamptey-Zwennes, Korea.
The rest are Papa Owusu-Ankomah, the United Kingdom; Mr Michael Ofori-Atta, Ambassador-at-Large, and Mr Emmanuel Kwame Asiedu Antwi, Ambassador In Situ (Chief of Protocol).
Responsibility
President Akufo-Addo said part of the responsibility of the new envoys at the multilateral level was to work with the governments of their accredited countries to assist in the prosecution of the common agenda in the fight against the scourge of armed conflicts, terrorism and violent extremism, the threat of climate change and the illicit flow of funds from Africa.
He said they also had the responsibility to promote the image of Ghana, which had a high reputation among the comity of nations and whose people were regarded as one of the most peaceful on the African continent.
President Akufo-Addo further advised the envoys to develop a cordial working relationship with the professional Foreign Service officers who had invaluable experience and knowledge of the terrain at their duty posts.
He said Ghana was on good terms with all the countries the envoys were being posted to, adding that “our bilateral relations span several decades and that cooperation with them remains strong”.
“Your role is to deepen these even further, as well as explore new areas of effective cooperation which will inure to the mutual benefit of our respective populations,” he said.
Assurance
On behalf of the envoys, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, who is returning to London, assured the President that they would work assiduously to justify the confidence reposed in them by their appointment as worthy representatives of the country.
He said they were aware of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy of the country and pledged to work towards attracting investments that would help attain the progress and development of the country, in line with the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda.
Source: Graphic Online
