UN affirms Ghana as dependable partner

The United

Nations Secretary General,

Mr. Antanio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres has (March2, 2017) affirmed that

Ghana will continue to be a dependable partner in world affairs.

Speaking during a courtesy call on him at the UN

Headquarters in

New York by Ghana's Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Ms.

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Mr. Guterres described Ghana as a model country on

the African continent.

Mr. Guterres stated that Ghana is a game-changer” and therefore hoped

that more countries will learn from her example. He recalled the leading role the

country (Ghana) played

in welcoming refugees from Liberia, Togo and Ivory Coast when he was the UN High

Commissioner for Refugees.

We

are looking forward to Ghana’s support in peace and security in ECOWAS. Ghana

will always play an important role in the ECOWAS. Preventive actions in the region

are very important, and we are counting

on your support”, said the Secretary General.

In this vein, he praised the work being done by Dr. Mohammed

Ibn Chambas, the UN’s Special Representative in West Africa to solve regional

problems.

On her part, Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey

conveyed greetings from Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to the

Secretary

General and also congratulated him (Mr. Guterres) on his new role as Secretary

General.

She lauded the UN for the transparent and

inclusive manner in which the

Secretary General was selected this time round.

The Ghanaian Foreign Minister was equally glad

that Mr. Guterres had

selected a woman from ECOWAS as his deputy and moved on further to appoint another

woman as Chef du Cabinet, a true reflection of his Gender Parity agenda.

Extolling Ghana’s democratic credentials, she

noted that “The

Ghana government stands for the rule of law, true democracy, peace and

security. We have seen and given a good example of what we get when we

entrench democracy. Ghana has shown a clean example of that”.

Â

         On the ECOWAS front, the Minister said Ghana

continues to play a

yeoman’s role in peace and security as reflected in the part the country played

in the resolution of the recent Gambian crisis. She also expressed gratitude to the

UN Secretary General for the commendation given to Ghana's son, Dr. Chambas, for

the good work he was doing in ECOWAS.

In

this connection, Ms. Botchwey assured the world body that Ghana will play her part

in

the UN’s effort for world peace, especially when it comes to peace keeping.

The Minister told the Secretary General that

Ghana has not taken

lightly the issue of terrorism, cyber security, climate change and will do

everything

to support the UN in that direction.

The

Minister was hopeful that the SG’s rich experience in refugees and other matters

will be an advantage in his present assignment.

Present were Ambassador Martha Pobee, Permanent Representative to

the UN, Mr. Philbert Johnson, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mr. R. Harry

Reynolds, Head of Information and Mr. Theodore Yeboah, First Secretary, all of

the Ghana Mission, New York.Â

Earlier had interaction

with the staff of the Ghana Mission and the UNSRC, an association of Ghanaians

working with the UN.

Picture by R. Harry Reynolds show Ms. Shirley

Ayorkor Botchwey (left) in a handshake with Mr. Guterres.