Visa: We can’t change US govt policy – Botchwey

Ghana cannot dictate the policy of other countries with regards to acquisition of their visas, Foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has said.

This comes on the heels of a new foreign policy from the United States that any person including former presidents of Ghana and Members of Parliament visiting the US for private business must show up at the embassy to be interviewed.

Speaking to the Foreign Affairs Committee of parliament on Thursday 22 June, 2017, US Ambassador to Ghana Robert Jackson said: “Now if you are travelling for tourism or business that is not related to government business, you will need to make a personal appearance. I want to reiterate, for official travel, protocol officers pass the passports for visa applications through the foreign ministry and the foreign ministry’s protocol officers bring it to us. But for personal travel, every person is required to make a personal appearance, even former presidents of Ghana have to come in for personal appearance. There are no exceptions.”

Reacting to the new American policy, Ms Botchwey said there is nothing Ghana can do about it.

“Before, protocol officers accompanied applicants – government officials, Members of Parliament, etc. – but if that is the law of the country then that is the law of the country. If that is what they require then that is what they require. I know that our president, in applying for an American visa [when he was presidential candidate], went to the American Embassy. But that is what it is. If that is the law of the country, that is the law of the country. Somebody of the level of a president or a former president has reached a point where everybody knows him or her and, therefore, some of these things are done away with…” she said.

She hinted that Ghana might do same to the USA. “In diplomacy there is something called reciprocity and therefore if it’s done to you then also you do the same,” she stated.