By Godwill Arthur- Mensah
Accra, June 24, GNA-Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has urged the Management Committee of the Parliamentary Friendship Association to foster strategic diplomacy, promote peace, expand trade and encourage cultural exchanges with sister parliamentary associations across the world.
He, therefore, urged the Management Committee to develop comprehensive guidelines for its engagements and activities, as well as promote innovation and strategic partnerships.
Mr Bagbin gave the advice at Parliament House in Accra on Tuesday, during the inauguration of the Management Committee of Parliamentary Friendship Association of the Ninth Parliament.
He said that the inauguration of the Association would usher in a new chapter for international diplomacy and thus entreated them to work with integrity, purposefulness, transparency and accountability.
“This is why the inauguration of this Management Committee is so critical. It must not only exist in name, but must be driven by action and focus on results,” he advised.
Mr Bagbin charged the Association to make frantic efforts to exchange experiences and ideas with sister associations for renewed hope and peace across the world.
He encouraged the Association to sign memorandum of understanding (MoU) with their counterparts worldwide in key thematic areas including trade, technology, cultural exchanges, education and sustainable development.
Mr Bagbin underscored the need for the Management Committee to rope in the independent and female legislators into its setup, noting that with the right leadership, it would strengthen international diplomacy that would benefit all Ghanaians.
Mr Kweku George Ricketts-Hagan, the Chairman of the Management Committee of Parliamentary Friendship Association and Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, said the Committee was an important management structure and pledged to work assiduously to ensure it functioned effectively to realise the desired goals.
“It will take its oversight responsibilities seriously to bring renewed hope in the governance of the Association’s cooperation,” he assured.
Mr Maher Kheir, the Dean of Diplomatic Corps and Lebanon Ambassador to Ghana, pledged to work collaboratively with Ghana’s Parliamentary Friendship Association to promote co-operation and integration among sister associations across the country.
Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, was of the belief that national parliamentary friendship associations served as a critical avenue for parliamentarians to network and resolve challenges in sister parliament across the world.
More also, parliamentarians could leverage their friendship with other sister associations to contest for international positions, the lawmaker stated.
Mr Jerry Ahmed Shiab, the Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe, who represented the Minority Leader, said in view of the complex global challenges, it was crucial to leverage national parliamentary friendship associations to build bridges, deepen interactions and diplomacy among parliamentarians globally.
GNA
Christian Akorlie