Four envoys call on Speaker

Page 17, Tuesday Jan 31, 2012
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

FOUR ambassadors accredited to Ghana yesterday paid separate courtesy calls on the Speaker, Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, to hold bilateral talks on how to improve relations between Ghana’s legislature with those of their respective countries.
They are Mrs Sharon Bar-li, Israel; Ms Irene Vida Gala, Brazil; Mr Tullio Guma, Italy; and Mr Jorge Fernando Lefebre Nicloas, Cuba.
When she called on the Speaker, the Brazilian Ambassador, Ms Gala, said it was important for the two countries to focus attention on the socio-economic wellbeing of women and children.
She said efforts should be intensified to increase women representation in the legislatures of the two countries.
Ms Gala said Ghana was high on the agenda of Brazil and would continue to provide assistance towards Ghana’s development efforts.
She informed the Speaker that plans were being made to enable the Brazilian President to visit Ghana to cement the cordial relationship among the two countries.
For his part, the Italian Ambassador, Mr Guma, applauded Ghana for the strides it had made in its socio-economic development and pledged to work hard to improve on the existing relation between the legislatures of Ghana and Italy.
The Israeli Ambassador, Mrs Bar-li, said Israel considered Ghana as an important ally and expressed the hope that Israel and Ghana would continue to co-operate in the various sectors in the interest of their peoples.
For his part, the Cuban Ambassador praised Ghana for its democratic credentials in Africa and beyond and expressed the hope that Ghana would continue to set the pace for other countries to follow.
Responding, Mrs Bamford-Addo attributed the economic gains of Ghana to the stable political environment that the country had enjoyed since the inception of the Fourth Republic.
She assured the ambassadors that the December general election would be peaceful, since Ghanaians were peace-loving people.
Mrs Bamford-Addo said Ghana had a lot of resources, adding that the recent addition of oil was an advantage for the country to make further economic gains.
She gave an assurance that Ghana was committed to efficiently and effectively managing its resources for the benefit of the entire population and not for the privileged few.