The 8 Envoys being sworn into office
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday swore into office seven Ambassadors and a High Commissioner at the Flagstaff House and charged them to safeguard and promote the image and interests of Ghana abroad.
The eight envoys are Francis Abakah, High Commissioner to the Republic of Sierra Leone; Emmanuel Enos, Ambassador to the State of Qatar; Ernest-Burke Asare Asiedu, Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia and Hannah Ama Nyarko, Ambassador to the State of Israel.
The rest are Perpetual Dufu, Ambassador to the Republic of Angola; Joseph Kwaku Antwi, Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo; Alhaji Sayuti Yahaya Iddi, Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Alhaji Ahmed Rufai Yahaya Iddi, Ambassador to the State of Kuwait.
At the event, President Akufo-Addo reminded the envoys of their threefold role – diplomatic, ceremonial and administrative – urging them to be mindful of the fact that they represent a country that, as a result of the commendable conduct of the Ghanaian people, is regarded as one of the most stable on the continent, a beacon of democracy, which is governed by the rule of law and respect for individual liberties, human rights and the principles of democratic accountability.
Reiterating the policy of government aimed at seeking more private sector equity financing for infrastructural projects – rather than resorting to borrowing that results in the ballooning of Ghana’s debt stock – the president stressed that the new envoys have the responsibility of driving private sector investment into Ghana.
“You are the chief promoters of Ghana’s commercial interests to the respective countries to which you are going. Promoting Ghana means working closely with our ministries and agencies at home, whose duties are to generate investment in the country,” he pointed out.
He continued, “Remember vividly the slogans of our flagship programmes, 1 District, 1 Factory; 1 Village,1 Dam; Planting for Food and Jobs. They are descriptions of our commitment to the rapid development and transformation of the nation’s industrial and agricultural sectors. We are determined to create the appropriate macroeconomic environment which will attract domestic and foreign investments into these, the real sectors of our economy. You have to help in that exercise.”
Looking at the creation of embassies and establishing formal diplomatic presence in Kuwait and Qatar for the first time, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the respective ambassadors have the duty of cementing Ghana’s relations with those countries to promote mutual co-operation.
“In doing so, you will recall at all times our objective – to build a Ghana Beyond Aid, a Ghana which has an honest system of governance, free of corruption, and which is self-reliant and exploiting its own resources with hard work, enterprise and creativity, to build the free, prosperous Ghana of the dreams of the founding fathers of our nation,” he added.