Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia cutting the tape to commission the Embassy
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Peter Szijjiarto, has disclosed that his government has doubled the number of scholarships for Ghana from 50 to 100 annually.
Dr. Szijjiarto, who was speaking at the inauguration of the re-opening of the Embassy of Hungary in Accra, indicated that the decision by his government is in keeping with the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
“We are hopeful that this new opportunity will offer a number of Ghanaian students access to study Engineering and other technology-related programmes, including ICT, in any of Hungary’s universities,” he stated.
According to him, the re-opening of the embassy after three decades of closure, was a welcome relief to his country, especially as it provides impetus to Hungary’s international policy drive dubbed, “Opening to the South.”
He explained that the policy puts Africa on the spotlight as the “future China”, especially the countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have stable democratic regimes and respect for human rights, adding that Ghana is their preferred destination.
The Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, who praised the country and the policies of President Akufo-Addo’s government, noted that the decision by the government at the time to close the consulate in Ghana was a terrible mistake which would not be repeated in the future.
Dr. Peter Szijjiarto further indicated that Hungary has a lot to share with Ghana in the areas of economic cooperation, food processing, security, sports and housing.
Hungary has programmes which tie perfectly in a number of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s economic policies such as ‘One District, One Factory’ (1D1F) and ‘Planting for Food and Jobs.’
The Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahammudu Bawumia, who jointly cut the tape with the Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister to inaugurate the Embassy, located at Cantonments in Accra, was happy that Hungary had returned to Ghana – its long-standing friend and development partner in Africa.
“The re-opening of your embassy in Ghana which is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, could not have been at a better time than now when government is rolling out a number of programmes related to creating jobs and economic emancipation of its people,” the veep averred.
The resident Ambassador, Dr.Andrias Szabo, who traced the history of Hungary’s relationship with Ghana, gave the assurance that much would be done to deepen the diplomatic relationship between both countries.
By Solomon Ofori