Six envoys present Letters of Credence to President
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has received the Letters of Credence from ambassadors and high commissioners accredited to Ghana from six countries.
They are the Ambassador of South Korea, Mr Lim Jung-Taek; the Canadian High Commissioner, Ms Kathleen Csaba; the High Commissioner of Namibia, Ms Selma Ashipala-Musavyi; the Ambassador of Mexico, Mr Enrique Ernesto Escorza Zamudio; the Ambassador of China, Mr Lu Kun, and the Austrian Ambassador, Mr Thomas Schlesinger.
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Each of them was received at the Forecourt of the Jubilee House by officials of State Protocol and treated to a red-carpet reception.
The Ghana Police Band played the national anthem of each envoy’s country, followed by that of Ghana, before he or she was ushered into the Jubilee House to present his or her credentials to President Akufo-Addo.
The envoys congratulated the President on his re-election and commended him for the befitting burial organised by the state for former President Jerry John Rawlings.
President Akufo-Addo expressed appreciation for the support of their countries to Ghana and assured them of his commitment to strengthen the bilateral relations between Ghana and their respective countries.
South Korea
In his interaction with the South Korean Ambassador, President Akufo-Addo said South Korea had assisted Ghana in many areas, including support in the fight against COVID-19.
He commended the people of South Korea for their model of development, saying that some 60 years ago, that country was a poor agrarian economy, but that through hard work, it had progressed to become a developed country.
The President said Ghana was inspired by the achievements of South Korea, and that it was the ambition of the government to work towards accelerating Ghana’s social and economic growth.
He also said the incidence of piracy had become a major security threat to all countries along the Gulf of Guinea and expressed the hope that with the cooperation of all, they would be able to deal with the menace.
Canada
President Akufo-Addo told the Canadian High Commissioner that Ghana, just like the North American country, shared the values of the Commonwealth, which include democratic accountability, the rule of law and values for human rights, adding that “all these mosaics of values are very dear to our two countries”.
He said Ms Csaba’s predecessor did a great deal of work to bind the two countries together and expressed the hope that she would walk on the same path for the relations to flourish.
“Your Prime Minister is one of my favourites; a much younger man than I … he is very responsive to the letter that I sent about the need for the world to think of a special way of assisting Africa in these difficult times,” President Akufo-Addo said.
He said the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Justin Trudeau, had gone ahead to organise a global meeting to that effect.
Namibia
Addressing the Namibian High Commissioner, the President said ever since the days of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the two countries had struggled for the liberation of the African continent and said a similar effort would be made towards ensuring the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which he said held the key to Africa’s development.
China
President Akufo-Addo told the Chinese Ambassador that he (the President) was honoured to have been invited to China for a state visit.
He described relations between the two nations as fruitful and said Ghana cherished the confidence Chinese investors had in the country, which had made Ghana China’s biggest trading partner.
He said many infrastructural developments in the country were under the aegis of the Ghana-China cooperation, adding that “we welcome it very much. We have been supportive of a One-China Principle which had been a cardinal feature in Ghanaian foreign policy ever since”.
He expressed the hope that Chinese companies in Ghana would take advantage of the AfCFTA to expand their businesses.
Austria
The President recounted to the Austrian Ambassador how he (the President) had visited Austria on three occasions during his first term in office, and described those missions as beneficial to the country.
He expressed appreciation for the role Austria was playing in the fight against terrorism in the ECOWAS region.
He urged the ambassador to work towards strengthening the ties between Ghana and his country by encouraging more trade missions between the two countries for their mutual benefit.
Mexico
When it was the turn of the Mexican Ambassador to present his letters, President Akufo-Addo commended the support of the government and the people of Mexico in areas of national development, including agriculture, which he said had benefited many farmers in Ghana.
He said Ghana would soon open a Resident Mission in Mexico City to strengthen the relations between the two countries.