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March 11, 2016
President Kufuor calls on Ambassadors
to support private entrepreneurs
Accra, Nov. 20, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on
Monday called on the heads of Diplomatic Missions abroad to
support private entrepreneurs, who sought for partnership,
investment and markets in their areas of accreditation.
He said the chief operating agency in the international
market was the private sector and that the Diplomats
initiative and imaginative support for the sector would be
contributing to the fulfilment of the Government's policy.
President Kufuor was speaking at the opening of a four-day
conference of Heads of Ghana's Diplomatic Missions abroad in
Accra attended by the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama,
the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Begyina Sekyi-Hughes, Members
of Parliament and heads of the Diplomatic missions in Ghana
and abroad.
It was to critically examine the synergies of Government's
domestic and foreign policies, to enable the missions to
rationalize their performance to ensure maximum contribution
to the national development efforts.
The Conference was under the theme: "50 years of Ghana's
Independence: Foreign Policy Challenges and Prospects for
Accelerated National Development."
President Kufuor said the entrepreneurial spirit of the
private sector with its creative interaction and
innovativeness was what drove trade and generated much of
the wealth of the world.
He said domestically, the Government had achieved
macro-economic stability with both inflation and interest
rates brought firmly under control and that the Government’s
priority in private sector development, good governance and
human resource development was to increase the capacity of
the diplomat as a socio-economic factor for national
development.
President Kufuor said Ghana remained committed to the ideals
and principles of all international organizations to which
she belonged and had enjoyed good relations with China,
India and Brazil among other countries and urged the
Diplomats to help the country to maximize her returns on
those policies both diplomatically and economically.
He said the delivery of efficient and effective consular
services to Ghanaians abroad and potential investors to
Ghana was another essential part of the work of the
Diplomats and that citizens abroad constituted the single
biggest source of revenue to the country with their
remittances reaching several billions of US dollars a year.
President Kufuor entreated them to remain vigilant and
ensure that Ghana's hard-won image was not undermined by
using the country as a transit point for illicit trade of
any kind.
He said at international conferences where Africa was
invited all testified to the increasing acceptance of Africa
by the rest of the world as a serious partner and that the
significance of this dramatic change in the image of the
Continent coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Ghana's
independence was a good sign.
Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
said the event should have been held yearly but it had not
been possible for almost three decades now, and that its
restoration on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Ghana's
independence was commendable and would help in the
attainment of national goals.
He said the meeting would ensure cohesiveness in Ghana's
foreign policy and enhance the capacity to attract foreign
direct investment.
Nana Akufo-Addo said in order to ensure that Ghana became a
middle income economy within the next decade, there was the
need to take some giant strides to improve on pertinent
issues of foreign policy.
He urged the Diplomats to take advantage of the conference
to best determine the necessary steps to be taken to
accelerate national development.
GNA
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