Lim Jung-Taek (2nd from right), Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Ghana, presenting the items to Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong (2nd from left), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. With them are Seunhmin Oh (right), acting Country Director, KOICA Ghana, and Hannah Nyarko (left), Coordinating Director, Policy and Economic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. Picture: Alberta Mortty

Korea donates equipment to Foreign Affairs Ministry

Joshua Bediako Koomson Jul - 26 - 2023 , 06:21

The Korea government has donated Information Technology (IT) equipment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration towards the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference scheduled to take place in the country in December this year.

The equipment, which were received at the ministry in Accra yesterday, comprised 20 laptops, 20 printers and headphones.

It is the first batch of a $1 million worth of IT products and vehicles the Korea government had pledged towards the organisation of the event.

Ghana has been chosen to host the next edition of the conference from December 5 to 6, becoming the first African country to host the event.

UN member states will participate in the conference as part of efforts to strengthen peacekeeping operations and its impact on communities.

Rationale

The Korean Ambassador to Ghana, Lim Jung-Taek, said his country was a strong supporter of UN peacekeeping missions and that since Ghana was a major player and main contributor to the operations, it was only appropriate to provide the country with such support.

“The Korean government will donate about $I million worth of IT products and vehicles to the Ghanaian government.

Today, we hand over IT products first.

The 12 protocol vehicles and 10 vans are now in transit to Ghana.

“We hope this support will help Ghana host the December conference successfully,” he added.

The ambassador further pledged the support of Korea, which is the immediate past host of the conference, towards a successful conference in Ghana.

Partnership

A Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, said when the country accepted to host the conference, Korea was among the first partners it engaged for logistical support.

“It is my utmost pleasure to witness the fulfilment of Korea’s pledge to support Ghana's endeavour to put up a successful conference.

“Having personally chaired the meetings of the multi-stakeholder planning committee for the upcoming conference, I fully appreciate the logistical burden the conference promises to impose on us.

And for that reason, I feel a sense of relief that we can count on the Republic of Korea and other partners when we encounter challenges along the way,” he said.

Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong said that the gesture had demonstrated the strong bond of friendship between the two countries.