President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday received the letters of credence of envoys of six countries accredited to Ghana at the Flagstaff House.
They were Khalifa Yousif Mohamed Qadheed Alzaabi from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mr Regessa Kafeale Ere, Ethiopia, and Mr Peter Holasek, the Slovak Republic.
The rest were Mr Andrzej Dycha from Poland, Mr Stanislas Kamanzi, Rwanda, and Mr Hawazi Bin Daipi from Singapore.
President Akufo-Addo reiterated Ghana’s commitment to enhance the bilateral relations between Ghana and other countries in order to engender mutually beneficial outcomes.
Strategic partnerships
The President underscored the need for strategic partnerships within the context of a globalised world where interdependence was key to the progress of any nation.
He said Ghana would continue to play her role within the comity of nations, by making the required contributions to international groupings and assignments.
The President entreated the envoys to feel at home in Ghana, saying it was his hope that their stay in the country would take the relations between Ghana and their respective countries to new levels.
UAE
Presenting his letter of credence, Khalifa Yousif Alzaabi extended warm regards from the President of the UAE, Sheikh Kalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to President Akufo-Addo.
He expressed his commitment to work towards strengthening the bilateral relations between UAE and Ghana.
Ghana and Ethiopia
For his part, Mr Ere said Ghana and Ethiopia had enjoyed strong bilateral relations dating back to the pre-colonial days.
The then leaders of the two countries, Emperor Haile Selassie and Dr Kwame Nkrumah, he said, played a vanguard role in the establishment of the Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU) which had now become the African Union (AU) and worked hard in upholding the sacred principles of its charter.
“Today, Ethiopia and Ghana are working together to achieve the objectives of the African Union (AU). In particular, by fully committing themselves to the realisation of the socio-economic transformation of the continent through Agenda 2063,” Mr Ere said.
Impressed
When he took his turn, Mr Holasek said the Slovak people were full of admiration for Ghana because it continued to enjoy a stable and democratic governance.
“Let me, therefore, highlight that Ghana stands as an example on the African continent, something that Slovakia highly values,” he said.
He added that the Slovak Republic was very impressed with the role Ghana was playing in regional security and stressed that Slovakia was aware of the importance of security and stability in economic development.
“Your government’s approach to governance with an emphasis on efficiency, transparency, accountability, democratic and civilian oversight, co-ordination and professionalism is exemplary,” he emphasised.
Mr Holasek said Slovakia as a permanent co-chair of the United Nations Group of Friends of Security Sector Reforms was ready to support Ghana’s process of building effective and efficient security and justice services within the framework of democratic governance, without discrimination and with full respect for human rights and the rule of law.
He said Ghana had considerable assets evident in its natural resources, youthful population and well-trained expertise, adding that his major preoccupation would be to promote trade between the two countries.
Ghana and Poland
For his part, Mr Andrzej Dycha said it was his intention to work to strengthen the mutual economic and political relations between Poland and Ghana.
Rwandan President grateful
When he took his turn, Mr Stanislas Kamanzi said Rwandan President Paul Kagame had asked him to extend his most sincere appreciation to President Akufo-Addo, for the invaluable support he extended to him as he carried through the mandate to spearhead the AU reforms
He said President Kagame looked forward to a continued engagement between Rwanda and Ghana, towards streamlining the AU, to enable it to serve the fundamental interests of Africa.
Deepening economic ties
For Mr Daipi, he said Ghana had consistently been ranked as one of Singapore’s top 10 trading partners in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to him, in 2016, Ghana was Singapore’s fourth largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa with bilateral trade at more than $271 million.
Mr Daipi said as a sign of a deepening economic co-operation with Ghana, the International Enterprise of Singapore established its second overseas centre in sub-Saharan Africa in Accra in 2013.
“There is growing interest from Singaporean companies to do business in Ghana. For instance, Perennial Real Estate and Shangri-La embarked on a US$250 million joint venture to develop an integrated mixed-use complex in Accra. The complex will comprise residential towers, an office tower, a shopping mall, service apartments and a hotel,” he said.
He said Singapore was keen to have a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with Ghana, saying that it would give potential investors the added assurance about the safety and security of their ventures.