President receives seven envoys’ credentials

Accra, Jan. 27, GNA –
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Monday received the credentials of seven
newly appointed envoys from Zimbabwe, Mali, Kenya, India, Togo, Rwanda and
Guinea.

They are; Mr Kufa
Edward Chinoza, Zimbabwe; Abdoul Karder Toure, Mali; Eliphas Mugendi Barine,
Kenya; Sugandh Rajaram, India; Colonel Awoki Panassa, Togo; Dr Aisa Kirabo
Kacyira, Rwanda; and Madame Olga Syradin of Guinea.

Receiving the envoys
at separate meetings at the Jubilee House, Accra, President Akufo-Addo
congratulated them on their appointments and wished them a successful duty tour
of Ghana.

He assured them of
the support of his Government to make their stay in the country worthwhile, and
further pledged Ghana’s commitment to forge closer partnerships with their
respective countries, and to explore new areas of cooperation, particularly in
trade and investments, to strengthen relations for the mutual benefit of all
parties.

Receiving the Indian
High Commissioner, President Akufo-Addo described the long-standing
Indo-Ghanaian relations, laid by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru
and Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, as an attestation to the strong
bond that existed between the two nations.

He spoke of the
support India was lending to Ghana in the programme to develop the rail
infrastructure in the country, and made reference also to the contribution of
the large Indian community to the nation’s socio-economic development, saying
that Ghana looked forward to an expanded cooperation with India.

Mr Rajaram commended
the President for the sterling leadership he was providing in the region and
beyond, and for his policies and programmes that was leading to the rapid
development of Ghana and the country becoming an economic hub in West Africa.

He said India
remained a strong and committed partner to the socio-economic development of
Ghana, adding his country looked forward to strengthening cooperation in the
areas of renewable energy and agriculture, and explore new areas of trade and
investment cooperation.

The Zimbabwean High
Commissioner appealed to President Akufo-Addo to champion the cause to have the
sanctions imposed on his country by the West lifted.

We hope Ghana will
lead this campaign in the ECOWAS region,” he said, adding, “Ghana is no doubt
noted with a big voice in supporting the removal of the sanctions on our
country. My President and the government of Zimbabwe really appreciate your
support and we know because of our relations, that support will continue.”

He thanked the
President for the delegation led by former President Jerry Rawlings he sent to
the funeral of the late Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe last September.

President Akufo-Addo
on his part said the sanctions placed on Zimbabwe were unacceptable and
unjustifiable and “we will continue our calls on our peers on the continent to
do everything we can to see that they are lifted as soon as possible so that
Zimbabwe will have the freedom to develop its potentials.”

“Hopefully, soon,
rather than later, we all should hear the good news by the collective efforts
of all the African people.”

The President said
the relations between Ghana and Zimbabwe should be situated in the context of
looking forward to economic growth and development opportunities to be derived
from the new AfCFTA arrangement.

“I believe that
Ghana and Zimbabwe can find a way to refurbish and recreate our economic
relation and boost. It’s time we had a permanent joint relation between us and
I hope that in your time we can have that.

“But our commitments
to Zimbabwe are non-negotiable. I believe that we are fighting the same battle
against poverty. So that we can also merge to develop a prosperous nation and
have the dignity of African people very much within our quarters. So, we are
very much determined,” he stated.

Mr Barine, the
Kenyan envoy also applauded the many economic intervention and programmes being
implemented in Ghana, saying it spoke to the commitment of the President and
his government “to create wealth and free the people of Ghana from aid”.

“I think the Ghana
Beyond Aid is a great concept that we would all want to emulate so that we will
be able to stand on our feet,” he said, adding that Kenya was ready to learn
from Ghana’s experience in that endeavour.

The Kenyan diplomat
sought Ghana’s assistance to surmount the problem of terrorism which was having
a heavy toll on the economy of that country.

He further commended
Ghana for the support it gave Kenya to get a non-permanent seat on the United
nations Security Council, saying the seat on the Security Council will further
Africa’s course in world security.

He called for
peaceful election as Ghana went to the polls this year.

President Akufo-Addo
said Ghana took a forward position and could not be indifferent in the fight
against terrorism and violent extremism, and assured that Ghana would lend
support to every effort at countering terrorism in any part of the continent.

He pledged that
election 2020 would be free, fair and credible, and Ghana would maintain its
place as the beacon of democracy in Africa.

On his part, the
Malian Ambassador congratulated Ghana for winning the bid to host the
secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and lauded the
many initiatives embarked upon by the government that was bringing about the
desired economic benefits.

He also commended
the country for a successful “Year of Return” programme, adding that it was a
move the rest of the continent should emulate.

President Akufo-Addo
assured that his government would do whatever it took to ensure that the AfCFTA
Secretariat was operational by the scheduled date of March 2020.

He told the
Ambassador that the terrorist outrages facing Mali was a problem that affected
the entire region, saying “We stand shoulder to shoulder with you in the fight
against terrorism.”

The President was
hopeful that the outcomes of Accra initiative that brought together the
intelligence and security agencies of the countries in West Africa region,
would be an instrument to defeat terrorism.

He said Ghana was
committed to all interventions to restore order and the resumption of state
authority and territory of Mali.

To the Rwandan
Ambassador Dr Kacyira, President Akufo-Addo said her appointment “goes very
well for the continuation of excellent relations that we’ve had between our two
countries”.

He expressed the
gratitude of his government and that of the people of Ghana to his Rwandan
counterpart, Paul Kagame, for the “strong support” he gave when Ghana bided to
host the AfCFTA Secretariat.

“He stood firmly on
our side. I want to put on record today the appreciation of the Ghanaian people
and state to him for that initiative and gesture.

“We believe that the
AFCTA, when it’s up and going and has the focus, support and commitment of all
of us could be a great instrument for the rapid economic development and
transformation of our continent by improving the conditions for intra-African
trade, and for scaling up the exchanges of agricultural, technological,
scientific products between our two nations.”

Ambassador Panassa
of Togo thanked the President for his efforts at ensuring peace and security in
that country, and urged him to promote democracy there.

President Akufo-Addo
pledged Ghana’s commitment to work with Togo to entrench democracy in the
neighboring state.

The Guinean
ambassador also committed to strengthen relations between her country and
Ghana.

GNA