President receives credentials of 5 envoys
President John Dramani Mahama yesterday received Letters of Credence from five newly appointed ambassadors and high commissioners at a ceremony at the Jubilee House in Accra.
They were — Diarra Dime Labille (France), Rui Orlando Ferreira De Ceita Da Silva Xavier (Angola), Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata (Namibia), Jacquiline Natepi Ben Lochalamoi (South Sudan), and Cong Song of the People's Republic of China.
China
President Mahama expressed gratitude to the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and the Chinese government for their constructive engagement in Ghana's debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework.
"China and France were the co-chairs of the framework that discussed Ghana's restructuring, and China played a very positive role in getting us there," he said.
The President said that since the restructuring agreement was signed, Ghana had honoured its commitments, bringing debt levels back to sustainable thresholds.
He extended appreciation to President Xi for his invitation to him to visit China, and the bilateral discussions held during that visit, including two grants, one to establish flower markets, and another to fund the establishment of a university in the Savannah Region.
President Mahama further said there was a growing Chinese investor footprint in Ghana's mining sector, specifically Cardinal Namdini, one of the major gold mine companies in the country, owned and operated by Chinese interests, as well as a recent transfer of the Bogoso mine from Newmont to a Chinese investor.
President Mahama added that the two countries had also agreed in principle on a zero-tariff trade arrangement, and expressed hope it would be signed and operationalised soon.
It would allow Ghana to export agricultural products such as cocoa and rubber, as well as oil and gold, to the Chinese market duty-free.
History
On the depth of Ghana-China relations, President Mahama traced the bilateral bond back to the era of Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and Chinese leaders at the time — Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai.
He recalled that it was in China that Dr Nkrumah first learned of the 1966 coup that toppled his government while en route to Hanoi.
"We share a lot of history," President Mahama said, adding that Ghana remained committed to expanding cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, while looking forward to an upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Commitment
President Mahama also extended warm wishes to the heads of state of France, Angola, Namibia and South Sudan, through their respective newly accredited representatives.
He reaffirmed Ghana's commitment to strengthening ties with each of those countries and expressed confidence that the incoming envoys would deepen cooperation across trade, diplomacy and development.
The credentials ceremony is a formal diplomatic tradition through which newly appointed ambassadors officially present their letters, signed by their respective heads of state, authorising them to represent their country in Ghana.
Appeal
President Mahama appealed to the French President, Emmanuel Macron, to support Ghana’s request for a waiver from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to enable the country to proceed with critical defence acquisitions.
He said security-related investments must be prioritised, even as Ghana continued to implement its economic recovery programme under the IMF.
President Mahama explained that strengthening both air and naval capabilities was essential, as the country faced increasing security threats, including piracy and the potential spillover of terrorism from the Sahel region.
