Ghana flag being hoisted to mark presentation of credentials
The newly-appointed Ambassador of Ghana to Germany, Georgina Ama Blay, has presented her letters of credence to the President of that country, Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Ambassador Blay made the presentation at a ceremony at the Castle Bellevue in Berlin on Tuesday, August 29, DAILY GUIDE has gathered.
She and her entourage were accordingly welcomed by a Guard of Honour mounted by a detachment of the German Armed Forces.
They were then ushered into the German Presidential Palace where she appended her signature in the Official Guest Book.
After introducing members of her delegation, including her husband, Freddie Blay, to the President, Mrs Gina Blay and President Steinmeier reportedly proceeded to hold a closed-door meeting.
The discussions were believed to centre on bilateral relations between Ghana and the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as regional, African and international issues.
Speaking at a reception, Mrs Blay observed that the official commencement of her work as ambassador “presents yet another fine opportunity for us to expand the frontiers of our bilateral relations with Germany.”
She explained that “this comes against the backdrop of successful general elections in Ghana on 7th December, 2016 – the 7th of such since our return to multi-party constitutional democracy in 1992- and the resultant swearing-in of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the new President of the Republic of Ghana on 7th January, 2017.
“This event is also taking place at a time when we are observing a year-long celebration of the 60th anniversary of Ghana’s Independence.”
According to her, 60 years of nationhood is a significant milestone in the life of every nation, adding that a lot had happened in Ghana over this period.
The ambassador indicated that “we have had our fair share of challenges, but also our good moments. In all this, we take pride in what we have achieved through our collective efforts and are inspired by the increasing enthusiasm of our people, especially the youth of our country, to achieve even more as a nation.
“We are also fortunate to have been able to nurture mutually beneficial relations with friends and partners like Germany throughout this journey.”
Developmental Deficit
Mrs Blay spoke about the developmental challenges still facing Ghana and what was being done by President Akufo-Addo’s NPP administration to remedy the situation and ensure a decent livelihood for all Ghanaians.
“In particular, there is still a lot that we want to do to improve the quality of lives of our people. My task as ambassador will therefore be to marshal and leverage all the resources at our disposal and explore all the avenues to deepen the existing relationship between Ghana and Germany and through that contribute to achieve government’s commitment to develop and transform Ghana beyond being a recipient of aid.”
She stressed her readiness to partner the German government in order to improve upon the bilateral relations between both nations, saying, “I am looking forward to give added impetus to existing areas of cooperation between our two countries; such as entrepreneurial and skills development, and the promotion of vocational and technical education, drawing from the German experience where appropriate.”
Attendees
Present at the ceremony were the Dean of African Ambassadors to Federal Republic of Germany, Jean-Marc Mpay of Cameroon; fellow ambassadors from other African countries; officials and representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany; business executives; journalists, as well as some Ghanaian traditional rulers in Germany; the Chief Imam, among others.
Prior to her appointment by President Akufo-Addo, Mrs Blay, wife of the New Patriotic Party Acting National Chairman, was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Western Publications Limited, publishers of DAILY GUIDE.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the Federal Republic of Germany (r) with Her Excellency Ambassador Gina Ama Blay Photo: MUSAH/ANA-Zongo News
A group photograph of Ambassador Gina Blay and some invited guests at the reception
By Melvin Tarlue