Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey
The Ambassadors-designate of Austria and Mexico to Ghana have presented their respective open letters to the Minister-designate for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.
They presented their letters separately on Monday, February 1, 2021 at the Foreign Ministry in Accra.
The Austrian Ambassador-designate to Ghana is Thomas Schlesinger while the Mexican Ambassador-designate is Enrique Ernesto Escorza Zamudio.
In a statement to receive Ambassador Zamudio’s open letter, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey recalled the longstanding historical relations that exist between the two countries dating back to August 1961 when Mexico became the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with Ghana.
She indicated that Mexico – Ghana relations have always remained cordial based on solidarity and mutual respect and stress Ghana’s readiness to continue working closely with Mexico within the framework of multilateral organizations to protect and advance the interest of developing nations in an increasingly challenging global environment.
According to her, the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic as one matter of interest that require international cooperation and Noted that the voice of Mexico could help ensure that developing countries, including Ghana, will have equitable access to life-saving vaccines at reasonable cost.
She acknowledged with appreciation, the untiring efforts of his predecessor Her Excellency Maria de los Angeles Arriola Aguire in enhancing the relations between Ghana and Mexico.
She made reference to the 2nd Session of the Political Consultation on Matters of Common Interest held virtually in July, 2020 and express the hope that it will continue to be a reliable medium for the two countries to forge a stronger and a more sustained political dialogue, acknowledging the great potential which still exists for educational cooperation between Mexico and Ghana in areas of common interest such as academic exchanges, scholarships, research and technical collaboration.
Meanwhile, in her statement to receive Ambassador Schlesinger’s open letters, she acknowledged the long-standing bonds of friendship and cooperation which happily exist between Ghana and Austria, founded on mutual commitment to peaceful co-existence, respect for the rule of law, democratic governance and international cooperation.
She reaffirmed Ghana’s determination and her personal desire to continue to forge strong partnerships for cooperation between Ghana and Austria, for which reason Ghana recently opened its first ever diplomatic Mission in Vienna as an indication of the commitment of the Ghanaian Government to expand its relations with Austria.
The Minister-designate recalled the visit of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to Austria in May 2019 during which he held fruitful bilateral discussions with H.E. Alexander.
She expressed appreciation for the financial and technical assistance extended by the Austrian Government to Ghana, in various fields, including those related to infrastructure, health, agriculture and the education sector, where various training programmes and scholarships have been offered to Ghanaians to study in Austria, which have contributed to the development of the Ghanaian human resource and expertise.
She referred to the Austrian Trade Mission to Ghana in March 2020 and urge the Ambassador to encourage Austrian companies to further deepen relations between the two countries.
By Melvin Tarlue