President Akufo-Addo receives credentials from 5 envoys

General news for Saturday 19 September 2020

Source: GNA

2020-09-19

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo received the credentials of five new envoys accredited by their respective countries to begin their tour of service in Ghana on Friday.

The envoys are: Tiemoko Moriko from Cote D’Ivoire, Daniela d’Orlandi from Italy, Gregory Andrews from Austrialia, Mohammed Abdelrahman Yasin Mohamed from Sudan and Jan Fury from the Czech Republic.

In separate ceremonies at Jubilee House, Accra, the new envoys conveyed the best wishes of their respective governments to President Akufo-Addo for his election as President of ECOWAS and expressed their confidence in him to provide adequate leadership to overcome the challenges of the region.

They also congratulated Ghana for leading the integration agenda on the continent and for hosting the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

They expressed their commitment to further deepen the ties of friendship between their countries and seek new opportunities for cooperation for the mutual benefit of their nations and Ghana.

Sudanese envoy Mohamed Abdelrahman Yasin Mohamed, who first presented his credentials, said he hoped to further strengthen the cordial and constructive relations that exist between the two countries.

“I promise to assume this responsibility with due seriousness and dedication, and to make every effort to fulfill it”

Mohamed said that Sudan views Ghana as a model of peace, political stability, a model of democracy and economic problems.
“We recognize and admire the positive and active role that Ghana plays in building and maintaining peace on the continent and beyond.”

He told the president that the Sovereign Transitional Council and the government of Sudan were interested in ending the war, building a sustainable peace, among others, to advance the socio-economic fortunes of that country.

Côte d’Ivoire’s designated ambassador, Moriko, conveyed the best wishes of Cote d’Ivoire’s leader, Alassanne Ouatarra, to President Akufo-Addo on his recent election as president of ECOWAS.

He highlighted the cordial relations that have existed between the two countries over the years and the formation of strategic alliances that have mutually benefited both countries.

Mr. Moriko mentioned one such joint effort between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), which for him would consolidate the foundations of an ambitious cooperation between the two countries.

The agreement signed between the two countries in 2017 established a framework for strategic cooperation, which covers the areas of Defense and Security; Economics of cocoa and cashew and other strategic crops; Maritime cooperation; Mining, energy and environment; Transport; and Economic policies.

Moriko promised to further strengthen ties between the two countries on the political and economic fronts.

When he took his turn, the Austrian envoy Mr Andrews said he was optimistic that the long-standing relations and history of partnership between his country and Ghana would be further strengthened.

He said that both nations shared the same important values ​​of democracy, freedom, equal opportunity and optimism for the future.

The envoy was particularly impressed with Ghana’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying: “Here in Ghana, the government responded quickly and, as in Australia, has always put people, safety and science first. “.

Mr Andrews praised Ghana’s leadership in economics, free trade and the headquarters of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat and for its principle of self-determination through the vision “Ghana beyond aid”.

“I particularly admire the approach of President Ghana Beyond Aid. And it’s great to see Ghana as the seat of the African Free Trade Agreement. I know that Ghana is setting an example of how we can all work together to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, “he said.

Mr. Fury, the Czech ambassador recounted the diplomatic relations between the two countries, dating back to 1959 during the time of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, adding: “We would like to continue in this tradition of support and cooperation. “

He referred to the number of high-level political and commercial exchanges that took place between the two nations last year, all in an attempt to further strengthen ties, and promised his country’s commitment to continued cooperation in the field of development. .

Fury said his country welcomed Ghana’s industrialization vision and Ghana Beyond Aid agenda, and said Czech companies could make a significant contribution in that direction.

In addition, he was optimistic that the cooperation, which focused mainly on the areas of health care, infrastructure, agriculture and security, would move forward to include other opportunities in power generation and distribution, agro-processing and water and sanitation.

The Czech envoy emphasized the fact that the quality of relations between the two countries would be largely determined by the intensity of their economic cooperation.

“One of our goals is therefore to negotiate the Investment Protection Agreement and sign the Economic Cooperation Agreement with Ghana.

“We seek to make the most of all the opportunities of multilateral diplomacy; therefore, we will not hesitate to access funds from different sources, including the European Development Fund to enhance development cooperation between Ghana and the Czech Republic ”.

The Italian envoy, Ms. Daniela d’Orlandi, praised Ghana’s democratic credentials and its commitment to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

He said that relations between Italy and Ghana remained excellent and had grown over the years, leading to high-level exchanges, with a common commitment to combat terrorism, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and to stabilization. of the Sahealian belt.

Ms d’Orlandi highlighted the role of Ghana in pushing forward the African integration agenda.

He promised to do everything possible to strengthen and promote investment, credit opportunities and trade cooperation between Italy and Ghana.

President Akufo-Addo, for his part, congratulated the new envoys on their appointment and welcomed them to Ghana.

He expressed the commitment of his administration to deepen relations between Ghana and their respective countries.

The president said that Ghana’s commitment to working together within ECOWAS, the AU and the world body was one of the important foundations of the country’s foreign policy.

He described the African Continental Free Area (AfCFTA) agreement as one of the most important decisions of the African Union, and said Ghana was committed to the continent’s integration agenda and would do everything possible to ensure its success.

“If it works effectively, it would be an important platform for the development and empowerment of the continent,” he said.

He wished the envoys a successful service tour of Ghana.