Support private entrepreneurs - JAK to Envoys

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.