Amb. Victor Smith
Ghana’s Ambassador to the USA, Mr. Victor Smith, has announced government’s plans to launch an online platform to issue visas online, which will help streamline the application process by December this year.
The announcement, made on Saturday, February 21, 2026, seeks to achieve a minimum of between 24-28 hours of visa approval for easy application. Ambassador Smith, speaking at a town hall meeting for Ghanaians in Southern California, named the initiative “Ghana 2.0: Empowering the next generation of Diaspora Investors and streamlining consulate services,” saying it aims to attract investors to the country.
He mentioned that the core values which guide his work in the USA as an Ambassador are to attract investors, both Americans and Ghanaians, into strategic partnerships that can create jobs, strengthen industries, and expand opportunities in Ghana. Ambassador Smith also revealed that the Ghana Embassy in the USA would be setting up Consulate Services in Los Angeles to cover the Western Hemisphere of the USA.
“Ghanaians abroad, including those in Southern California, are the country’s greatest assets. Some of the most skilled and educated resourceful individuals anywhere in the world, made up of businessmen and women, entrepreneurs, engineers, innovators, health professionals, educators, and IT workers, bring values such as discipline, resilience, hospitality, and an unshakable sense of community that defines them as a people,” he said.
Ambassador Smith reiterated that their achievements in America not only bring honour to Ghana but also point to the larger truth that “Ghana has the promise to rise, Ghana has the people to build, and Ghana has the potential to lead.”
He revealed that his mandate is not only to represent Ghana diplomatically but to create bridges that translate into real development, real investments, and real opportunities back home. Additionally, he stated that the embassy is working on how to streamline business through diaspora facilitation systems. “The Embassy is working to make doing business easier for investors and diaspora partners to navigate opportunities in Ghana through diligence and government interfacing with project support,” he added.
Ambassador Smith emphasised that under the leadership of President John Mahama, Ghana has achieved remarkable progress by stabilising its economy and restoring confidence, both domestically and internationally, through discipline in fiscal management and expenditure.
The President of the Ghana Association of Southern California, Mr. Marty Odonkor, in his address, said the association can serve as a credible institutional bridge between Ghana, the Southern California Ghanaian community, and the Ghana Government through structural collaboration.
Mr. Odonkor revealed that part of the agenda for the town hall meeting was to help reset and build Ghana as a modern, relevant, and resilient institution. He presented five areas of priorities for the reset goals as follows: strengthening governance and continuity; restoring real value to membership; investing intentionally in youth and future leaders; building economic sustainability; and reconnecting Ghana as a strategic partner.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke