6 Envoys present letters of credence
President John Dramani Mahama has said the government is speeding up the process for the signing of an agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) on the transfer of prisoners.
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The agreement, when signed, will ensure that prisoners from the two countries were sent to their countries of origin to complete their sentences.
Receiving the letters of credence of the new UK High Commissioner to Ghana at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday, President Mahama expressed the hope that the two countries would soon reach a common ground on the issue.
The UK High Commissioner, Mr Jon Benjamin, was among six envoys who presented their letters of credence to the President.
Others were Mr Gerhard Brugger from Switzerland and Mr Arafan Kabine Kaba from Guinea.
The rest, all non-residential, are Mr Joseph Habineza, Rwanda (based in Abuja), Dr Lockwood Smith, New Zealand (based in London) and Prof Alejandro Israel Correa Ortega, Venezuela (based in Cotonou).
President Mahama commended the UK for its support for Ghana in the implementation of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.
High Commissioner
In his response, Mr Benjamin said the two countries shared important values of democracy and good governance and added that the UK was keen on supporting Ghana to overcome its economic challenges.
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Switzerland
Welcoming the Swiss Ambassador, President Mahama described the relations between the two countries as "solid" and expressed the hope that the future would see further development in the relations.
He said Ghana would count on Switzerland to develop the country's small and medium enterprises, which were key to advancing economic development.
For his part, Mr Brugger said Ghana was progressing economically and pledged his country's support in that respect.
Guinea
When it got to the turn of the Guinean Ambassador, President Mahama touched on the integration of the sub-continent and indicated that Guinea and Ghana had a role to play in attaining that objective.
He said Ghana was positioning itself as the hub for energy production, stressing that it would enable the country to supply power to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
Mr Kaba expressed delight at the long-standing relations between the two countries.
He mentioned the strides the current generation of leaders in Africa were making in building their respective countries and the continent and said Ghana and Guinea were proud to be part of that leadership.
He presented a letter from the Guinean President, Prof Alpha Conde, to President Mahama inviting him to pay a state visit to Guinea.
Rwanda
Receiving the letters of credence of the Rwandan envoy, President Mahama noted the significant economic progress that country had made since the end of the genocide.
He said Ghana was in the process of completing a general cooperation agreement with Rwanda.
Mr Habineza pledged to work assiduously to build on the existing relations between the two countries.
New Zealand
President Mahama said although relations between Ghana and New Zealand were cordial, there was still a lot of work to do to bring them together.
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He called for New Zealand’s support in the transfer of technical knowledge and renewable energy.
Dr Smith said New Zealand was determined to take its bilateral relations with Ghana to another level.
Venezuela
President Mahama acknowledged scholarships that Venezuela gave to Ghanaian students in 2010 to study medicine and food science.
He also welcomed the decision by Venezuela to support ECOWAS to set up a factory for the production of lavaecide to fight the breeding of mosquitoes.
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The envoy said although he would be stationed outside Ghana, he would work as if he lived in the country.