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Daniela D’Orlando, the Italian Ambassador to Ghana, and Cecilia Dapaah, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, toasting at the event
Daniela D’Orlando, the Italian Ambassador to Ghana, and Cecilia Dapaah, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, toasting at the event

Peace, regional integration necessary to overcome challenges - Italian Ambassador

The Italian Ambassador to Ghana, Daniela D’Orlando, has said the commitment to the promotion of peace, multilateralism and regional integration are core values needed to overcome the current global challenges.

Those values, which were shared by her country, were also required for a thriving democracy and respect for the rule of law and human rights, she said, while lauding the fruitful relations between her country and Ghana.

“Our excellent bilateral relations date back to 1958, when the Italian Embassy was opened, just a year after Ghana’s independence,” Ms D’Orlando said in a toast at a reception at her official residence in Accra to mark Italian National Day last Thursday.

Members of the Italian community in the country, government officials, members of the Diplomatic Corps, as well as representatives of the private sector, attended the reception.

Italian presence

Ms D’Orlando, however, said the presence of Italians in the then Gold Coast dated back to the beginning of the 20th century.

She said as a result of Italy’s strong and ever-growing cordial ties with Ghana, there were now 800 Italians in the country, while Italy was also hosting one of the largest Ghanaian communities in Europe, about 100,000.

Ambassador D’Orlando further said there were 100 Italian companies and 40 associations in Ghana which were involved in various businesses in the energy, construction, educational and agribusiness sectors.

Furthermore, she said, the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries yielded €521 million in 2021, adding that an office of the Italian Development Cooperation was opened at the Italian Embassy in Accra in December last year.

Cooperation

Responding to the toast, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, who represented the government, acknowledged the continuous cooperation between the two countries in the areas of fisheries and railways, as evidence of the growing signs of their bilateral ties.

With regard to defence, she said Italy had been a dependable partner, especially in the area of maritime security.

Ms Dapaah also said Ghana looked forward to exploring new areas of cooperation with Italy in all sectors of the national economy, “especially in our post-COVID-19 economic recovery effort”.

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