Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Interacts with the Ghanaian Community

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Riyadh, April 7, 2015 – The ambassador of Ghana to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), His Excellency Alhaji Said Sinare on Saturday met with the leadership of the Ghanaian community in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The meeting, which was held at the premises of the Ghana Consulate in Jeddah was attended by the Deputy Ambassador, Her Excellency Hajia Boya Gariba, the Consul-General in Jeddah Alhaji Mohammed Habib Idris, as well as other professionals working in various sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Ambassador Sinare extended warm greetings from His Excellency the President of the Republic John Dramani Mahama and the good people of Ghana to the members of the Ghanaian community in Jeddah. He said the President is aware of the various contributions Ghanaians are making in the development of the Saudi economy, especially professionals working in the petro-chemical and financial industries. The ambassador mentioned that it was important that these professionals will return to Ghana with their experiences and expertise to help strengthen the Ghanaian economy.

His Excellency Alhaji Sinare said the Presidential Election Petition case brought against the government by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the Supreme Court after the 2012 Presidential Elections had a negative effect on the general economy of the country. He stressed that both local and international investors were not confident of the outcome of the case, and therefore didn’t invest as much as the government had anticipated. Alhaji Sinare was quick to add that since then the President and his team have been working tirelessly to attract investors to invest in the various sectors of the economy. The ambassador said, they will recall that the President had to visit the State of Qatar in late last year to meet with the government of the country and the Qatar Investment Authority. He said Qatar has shown enormous interest in investing in the Ghanaian economy especially in the energy, agric and the aviation sector. The Qatar Airways will very soon commence operations to Ghana, and the government of Ghana is working to open a Consulate in the country.

On the issue of Ghanaian domestic workers working in the various Arab countries, the ambassador mentioned that after his tour of the region, he has come to the conclusion that the Government of Ghana must take a second look at the whole enterprise. He said most of these young Ghanaian domestic workers suffer both physical and mental abuse from their employers. Alhaji Sinare said he will advocate for the cancellation of the Visa 20, and push for the strict regulation of the agents in charge of this business.

In his concluding remarks, the ambassador outlines some of the most important development projects currently on-going in Ghana. He said the President has focused great attention on infrastructural development such as hospitals, road networks, educational institutions, as well as the expansion of the various airports in the country.

The President of the Ghanaian Community in Jeddah, Alhaji Jaafar Umar Barau on behalf of the Ghanaian community thanked the ambassador and his team for organizing the forum. He said they’ve been monitoring the good works of the newly-appointed ambassador since he assumed office, and said they are impressed with the way and manner the ambassador has been working very hard. Alhaji Jaafar appealed to ambassador Sinare to continue to work hard to promote the interest of Ghana and Ghanaians in the GCC. He added that the growing number of Ghanaians in the Arab Gulf meant that the country must have a very proactive ambassador that can see to their interest, hence the choice of Ambassador Sinare was the right one by His Excellency the President John Dramani Mahama. Alhaji Jaafar mentioned some of the good works of ambassador Sinare during his term as the Ghana ambassador to Egypt, and prayed that the ambassador will continue to work even harder in the Kingdom.

Signed:

Mahmoud Jajah

Secretary/Press Officer

Ghana Embassy

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

+966590229700

ghanaembassyriyadh@gmail.com