Shirley Ayorkor Botchway
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, yesterday told parliament that the current Akufo-Addo administration has engaged a team of consultants to draft a foreign policy for Ghana that would help accelerate the economic development of the country.
He said a team of experienced local and foreign diplomats would come up with the policy which is expected to be a lasting blueprint on the way forward in terms of Ghana’s foreign affairs agenda.
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, who was contributing to the debate on the 2018 budget in parliament, said since independence, Ghana has not had recognizable foreign affairs policy and that the new government would prioritize that.
According to Hon Annoh-Dompreh, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Nsawam/Adoagyiri, in view of the vision of this government to have a permanent foreign policy, the government has rightly budgeted $50 million in the 2018 budget for the rehabilitation and proper equipping of Ghana’s foreign missions to be able to effectively implement the objectives of the new foreign policy.
The Nsawam/Adoagyiri explained that under the good policies of the present government, records at the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) showed that there has been GH¢4 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a result of good economic diplomacy.
He further said that the country has expanded its foreign mission frontier by opening new missions in Doha, Qatar, Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates (UAE), Libya and Serbia.
The Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman also indicated that the NPP, as part of its vision, will quickly establish a new Foreign Affairs Institute to help train more manpower for the sector.
The MP also spoke about government plans to institute an insurance scheme for cocoa farmers.
According to him, it would help secure the future of cocoa farmers and enable them enjoy the fruits of their labour even in old age.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr