Prez swears in 2 envoys, receives four new ambassadors
The government is making strenuous efforts to get the Japanese government to restore its Yen loan portfolio to Ghana. The concessional facility was withdrawn by Japan when Ghana took the decision to access the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in 2002.
President John Dramani Mahama, who said this when he swore in two new ambassadors at the Flagstaff House yesterday, said the loan, which had a long period of grace of 25 years, was one of the best for the country and its restoration would help advance the country's development agenda.
The ambassadors who were sworn in were Alhaji Said Sinare for Saudi Arabia and Mr J.K. Parker-Allotey for Japan.
Japan, the President said, had for many years been the leading creditor of Ghana until Ghana went HIPC.
When Ghana went HIPC, however, Japan was the country to cancel the largest of the country's foreign debt.
He tasked the new ambassador to Japan to take the issue of restoration of the Yen loan facility seriously.
Concerning Saudi Arabia, Mr Mahama said it was a leader in foreign trade and investment in the Arab region.
Ghana must, therefore, take advantage of the situation.
He reiterated his confidence in the two personalities to excel in their new positions.
Mr Sinare promised that he and his colleague were poised to deliver to justify the confidence reposed in them by the President.
Four new ambassadors
The President also received the letters of credence of four new ambassadors accredited to Ghana.
They were Mr Abdalfatah Alsattari of the State of Palestine, Mr William David Hanna, European Union (EU), Mr Kaoru Yoshimura, Japan, and Mr Mohamed Mostapha Heider of Egypt.
Mr Mahama said Ghana was one of the first countries to recognise the state of Palestine.
"Ghana's position on Palestine is based on principle," he explained, adding that the people of Palestine deserved to live on their own land.
Mr Mahama also noted that the EU continued to be Ghana's biggest trading partner.
He stated that the envoys had come to Ghana at a time the country was taking steps to restore her economic fortunes, and, therefore, expressed the hope that they would support the initiatives.
He said the country had taken steps to improve the regulations of her fishing industry in order to win back the EU’s confidence in the sector.
Mr Mahama added that everything was being done to get the EU to restore the multi-donor support which had been withheld for some time now.
The government’s team negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had left for Washington to conclude the negotiations and Mr Mahama indicated that the programme was going to be an important one for the country.
Referring to Japan, the President said the country had been one of Ghana's greatest allies.
He sought the support of the envoy for the early execution of a new bridge project over the Lower Volta, which is critical to improving traffic in the eastern corridor of Ghana.
Touching on Egypt, Mr Mahama said Africa became much stronger when Egypt was restored as a member of African Union after the resolution of her political crisis.
He called for the promotion of trade and investment between Ghana and Egypt.
Response of Ambassadors
In their response, the ambassadors indicated their commitment to offer their best of services.
Mr Alsattari hailed Ghana’s continuous support for the cause of Palestine.
Mr Hanna also indicated that his activities would foster bilateral relations, development cooperation, economic partnership agreement and the fight against Ebola.
Mr Yoshimura said the Japanese government was committed to assisting in upgrading the capacity of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and to support in the fight against Ebola.
He stated that preparatory work was underway for the eastern corridor bridge project to be financed by the Yen loan to Ghana.
Mr Heider expressed appreciation to the government and people of Ghana for the support shown Egypt to resume its seat in the African Union.
