Two ambassadors present credentials to Prez Mahama
Two ambassadors accredited to Ghana presented their letters of credence to President John Dramani Mahama at the Flagstaff House yesterday.
They are Mrs Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury from Finland and Dr Gabor Ternak from Hungary. Both will, however, operate from Abuja, Nigeria, because their countries are yet to open embassies in Ghana.
Finland
Receiving the Finish Envoy, President Mahama said Ghana and Finland had had close relations over the years and expressed confidence in the new envoy to work to grow the relationship.
He expressed the hope that operating from Abuja would not prevent the envoy from creditably carrying out her duties.
He recalled the assistance Finland provided Ghana to be able to establish a vessel traffic management information system (VTMIS) last year and said it was symptomatic of the strong relations that existed between the countries.
Finland supported Ghana to establish the Euro 16 million facility, which has a long range identification system that can track vessels within a range of 1,000 nautical miles.
President Mahama said with the VTMIS, Ghana was ready to share information with other countries along the West African coast to check maritime crime.
Envoy
Responding, Mrs Suomela-Chowdhury expressed delight at her appointment to Ghana.
She promised to work with the Ghanaian authorities to identify potential areas of co-operation.
He commended President Mahama and the government of Ghana for the role they played in the fight against the Ebola viral disease in affected countries in West Africa.
Hungary
Receiving the Hungarian Ambassador, President Mahama mentioned the fruitful relations between Ghana and Hungary which, he said, had resulted in many Ghanaian youth receiving scholarships to study in critical areas such as medicine and engineering in that country.
He welcomed the decision of Hungary to open its mission in Ghana.
The President said there were opportunities for Hungarian businesses to use Ghana as the centre for reaching out to the vast West African market.
Ambassador
Dr Ternak recognised the growth chalked up by Ghana over the years and promised to work to build on existing relations between the two countries.
Dr Gabor Ternak, Ambassador of Hungary, presenting his letters of credence to President Mahama. Picture: EBOW HANSON
