I recently came across a video of a recent visit by the President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to China and learned something profound about our country that needs to be addressed. What the images reveal is not merely a lapse in preparation.
They expose a deeper misunderstanding of how nations connect to the world and how influence is cultivated in international affairs. Ghana often treats diplomacy as a domestic performance, forgetting that international relations is a competitive arena where states project power, competence, and reliability through every gesture, every document, every seat at the table. The world is not moved by our intentions. It is moved by the signals we send.
In global diplomacy the first thing you negotiate is perception. Before a single word is spoken the other side is already forming a judgment about the seriousness of the delegation before them. Appearances in this context are not vanity. They are part of the grammar of power.
This is a teaching moment from China
The visit offered a powerful, unplanned lesson in the mechanics of global diplomacy. The images circulating from that meeting tell a story not of personalities but of institutional culture. What emerged was a sharp contrast between a delegation that treated diplomacy as a precise, choreographed undertaking and one that approached it with a level of improvisation that weakens national influence before any words are exchanged.
This is not about aesthetics. It is about the signals a nation sends when it steps into the global arena. And in this case, Ghana’s signals suggested fragmentation rather than coherence, personal expression rather than state discipline.
The Attire Problem: When personal wardrobes replace state protocol
One of the most glaring issues was the lack of standardized attire. Members of the Ghanaian delegation appeared in an assortment of garments: some in kaftans, some in smocks, others in outfits whose origins reflected private taste rather than public protocol. The result is not a celebration of Ghanaian diversity. The result is visual incoherence, a delegation that looks like a collection of individuals rather than an extension of the Ghanaian state.
A diplomatic delegation cannot function as a parade of personal wardrobes.
Countries that care about their global presence do not allow this level of discretion. Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, and the broader Southeast Asian states all have profound cultural identities. Yet their delegations never arrive in a mix of uncoordinated outfits. They understand that attire is not a cultural referendum. It is a tool of statecraft. It communicates seriousness, cohesion, and familiarity with international norms.
The deeper issue is how Ghana sees itself in the world. The world reads seriousness through standards. Not because the standards are inherently superior but because they are shared signals. They communicate that you understand the rules of the road. They tell your hosts that you came prepared to do business at the level where global decisions are made.
Ghana needs to internalize this. The point is not to mimic China or Japan. The point is to present Ghana as a coherent, capable, strategically minded state. That requires:
A formal dress code for all diplomatic engagements abroad, with clear definitions of which Ghanaian attires qualify as official and when they are to be worn.
No smocks unless they are part of a unified, state approved dress protocol for the entire delegation.
No kaftans unless the entire delegation is in kaftans by design.
No wardrobes improvised on the morning of departure.
No visual confusion that suggests the delegation is acting as individuals rather than as a disciplined negotiating bloc.
Our lack of a defined dress code for official international engagements sends the wrong message. It suggests a state still negotiating with itself rather than presenting itself with unified intent.
Standards and the silent language of influence
In international relations there are standards that the world silently agrees on. These standards are not Western impositions. They are practical conventions that make global diplomacy legible, predictable, and credible. When a delegation adheres to these conventions it signals competence. When it disregards them it signals either inexperience or indifference.
East Asian countries understand this clearly. They do not wear their traditional garments in high level diplomatic engagements because they cannot. They refrain because they know the value of speaking in the shared diplomatic grammar of the international order. It is not suppression of culture. It is recognition that states communicate through symbols, and that uniformity reinforces the weight and authority of the state.
Ghana’s delegation, by contrast, appeared visually fragmented, and fragmentation in such settings is read as institutional weakness.
Preparation Beyond Attire: Documentation, posture, and coherence
The attire issue was only one layer. The deeper problem was the overall presentation of preparedness. The Chinese delegation sat with thick briefing folders, coordinated notes, and a unified posture suggesting extensive pre-briefing. The Ghanaian side displayed far fewer documents and inconsistent engagement.
In diplomacy the side with the thicker binder usually holds the advantage. Documentation is strategy in hard copy. Posture is confidence in visible form. When one delegation looks like it prepared for weeks and the other appears to be encountering the moment for the first time, the asymmetry becomes not just visible but consequential.Diplomatic Presence as a Tool of National Power
This is the larger point. When Ghana sits at an international table it is not merely present. It is negotiating its place in the world. Influence is not created through slogans. Influence is created through signals of competence, discipline, and seriousness of purpose.
Attire, posture, documentation, and coordination are all part of the state’s vocabulary. If these elements are improvised Ghana speaks with a fractured voice. If they are standardized Ghana speaks with authority.
And authority is everything in global diplomacy.
What We Must Do
Ghana needs a clear, state-defined diplomatic protocol that addresses:
- Attire:
A formal dress code for all official delegations, with defined options for Ghanaian national attire when appropriate and only if the entire delegation adheres to it.
- Documentation:
Mandatory briefing folders for every member of a delegation, prepared weeks in advance with technical data, negotiation positions, and fallback strategies.
- Training:
A professional diplomatic corps trained in global protocol, negotiation choreography, and international communication standards.
- Coordination:
Delegations must act as unified teams with clear roles, not as collections of individuals.
This visit to China should not be dismissed as an unfortunate aesthetic mismatch. It is a warning. If Ghana wants influence, investment, and respect on the world stage then it must learn to speak the international language of diplomacy. Not because we lack culture, but because the global arena rewards nations that demonstrate discipline in the now.
It is also not about abandoning culture. It is about recognizing that diplomacy has its own language, visual and procedural, that successful nations master. Ghana must learn to operate in that language. Standards matter because they are the building blocks of credibility. And credibility determines whether Ghana influences the world or is merely observed by it.
The world listens first with its eyes and the reality is this – what Ghana shows is what Ghana becomes.
The writer is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in finance, capital markets, technology, and operations. Proven track record of leading high-impact, global initiatives, restructuring organizations, and driving significant business transformations. Adept at managing cross-functional teams, u business performance, and delivering operational excellence. Expertise in artificial intelligence, enterprise risk management, and strategic execution. Demonstrated success in enhancing profitability, mitigating risk, and executing large-scale corporate initiative.
The post Re-Imagine Ghana with Dr. H. Aku Kwapong: The lesson from Beijing: China visit reveals gaps in Ghana’s diplomatic machinery appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.
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