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”.


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         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.