CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
Ghana's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey officially opened the Embassy of Ghana in Doha on Monday.
The inauguration was attended by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary-General HE Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al Hammadi, Ghanaian Ambassador to Qatar HE Emmanuel Enos, Dean of Diplomatic Corps and Eritrean Ambassador to Qatar HE Ali Ibrahim Ahmed, diplomats, elders of the Ghanaian community and representatives of the Ghanaian Association in Qatar.
Speaking on the occasion, Botchwey thanked Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al Thani for assisting them in the processes of opening the embassy.
She said the opening of the embassy marks a watershed in Qatar-Ghana relations.
The Ghanaian minister said that over the years, Ghana has had longstanding diplomatic relations with Qatar although these relations were largely conducted through the Ghanaian resident mission in Riyadh.
She said,"It was a defining moment in the history of Ghana-Qatar relations when Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo appointed an Ambassador of Ghana to Qatar, last year."
She said that there have been two exchanges of highly successful state visits first by the President of Ghana and later, in December, 2017, by HH the Amir, which she said set the enduring framework for enhanced cooperation between Ghana and Qatar in various fields.
"During the historic state visit to Ghana by HH the Amir, in December, 2017, several MoUs and agreements were signed by our two countries in the fields of youth and sports, culture, air services and protection of investments," she said.
She added that within the context of the state visit to Ghana by HH the Amir, there was also a follow-up visit to Accra in March, 2018, by a technical team from various ministries in Qatar that further deepened the growing relations between Ghana and Qatar.
According to her, another important milestone in the growing relations between Ghana and Qatar was the appointment of resident Ambassador-Designate of Qatar to Ghana HE Mohammed Ahmed in March this year.
She said the new embassy is expected to be at the centre of all interventions and initiatives that are imperative to the actualisation of the common aspirations of Ghanaians and Qataris for progress and prosperity in all human endeavours.
The minister said the mission is also expected to cater for the consular and other welfare needs of the numerous Ghanaians working in various sectors of the Qatar economy.
"The Mission has the onerous responsibility to work towards facilitating people-to-people relations between Ghanaians and Qataris, thus, further deepening the existing relations," she said.
Ghanaian Ambassador to Qatar said it was only in December 2017 that they arrived in Doha with core staff and began setting up the embassy.