Ghana High Commission UK Takes the Lead

... in the last two years

The Ghana High Commission in the UK has chocked a magnificent success in two years that His Excellency Professor Kwaku Danso Boafo became the High Commissioner in 2009. This was made known to the media at the conference hall of

the mission by the High Commissioner when he reviewed the activities of the High

Commission for the last two years.

The mission is the most important and very strategic of all the Ghana missions abroad. Therefore its importance cannot be wished away, more importantly the changing nature of modern geo-diplomacy occasioned by the revelations by Wikileaks.

In a globalised environment where countries compete for foreign direct investments (FDIs), markets for country products and services, promoting Ghana and negotiating for investments and indentifying human resource in the Diaspora for "brain gain" for Ghana, these become the main responsibilities of our missions abroad.

As a result of the above and in line with the Better Ghana Agenda, His Excellency Professor Kwaku Danso-Boafo has presided over very important initiatives to ensure that Ghana remains a prominent player in the international

scene and among the business community.

Some of the investment drives that the High Commission championed and actively participated in are the UK/Ghana Investment Forum which was held in London last year and attended by a Government delegation led by the Vice President His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. It is worth noting that this event was oversubscribed by prospective investors.

Additionally, the mission was involved in the Ghana/Ireland Trade & Investment Forum; the Exhibition by the Commonwealth Countries League Fair; Children and Families Across Borders; a visit to the United Infrastructure Development Corporation.

The Mission also participated in the World Fruit & Vegetable Show - Dhillan International & Trade Section and the World Travel Market Fair.

The mission supported some Ghanaian businesses in the UK including GUBA which was launched at the High Commission and the endorsement for the MeFiri Ghana projected.

Other activities and initiatives that the mission has been involved in, in the last two years include opening of Honorary Consulate in Glasgow to take care of Ghanaians north of the border. It organised the Sons and daughters of Ghana which brought together people of Ghanaian descent who have lived in UK all their

lives. Prominent personalities who attended the event include Rt Honourable Lord

Paul Boateng, Kwame Akwei Armah (Writer and Actor), and Hugh Qaurshie (Actor) who has since the event traced his heritage to Ghana.

To ensure that the skills and expertise of Ghanaians in the UK is tapped for the

development of Ghana, the Mission put together the Ghana Skills Data Base Bank Task Force to collect and collate details of Ghanaians with skills into a data bank which will be available to all prospective employers.

Other achievements of note are the Ghana Youth Day which was organised by the mission in collaboration with the Ghana Union with support coming from Tullow Oil; hosting of Business Council of Africa; Ghana vs. Germany world cup encounter event at the German Ambassador's residence.

As a result of the international standing of Ghana and the contribution to world

peace and diplomacy, the London Metropolitan University is partnering the mission to hold lectures for their students in Diplomacy at the premises of the High Commission.

Ghanaians have always complained that the mission is not in touch with the Ghanaian community. In view this the High Commissioner together with his staff undertook community engagements including the Ghana Union activities; Anasekrom event; Kente festival held in Luton and fund raising events of Ghanaian Associations and groups.

The mission also ensured that the Vice President interacted with the Ghanaian community when he was in London to attend the investment forum. The National Pensions Regulatory Authority and Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs also met with the Ghanaian community.

The officials of the High Commission led by His Excellency Professor Kwaku Danso-Boafo extended their outreach programme to include major cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Dublin, Glasgow, Cardiff, Oxford and many more, to interact with the Ghanaian community in these cities including the Universities.

The High Commissioner, through his own initiative, made arrangements for scholarships with Liverpool Hope University; scholarships in MBA and Msc in Oil and Gas from Coventry University for deserving Ghanaian students.

One important achievement and which was a remarkable success too, was the hosting of the Black Stars before, during and after their last trial match against Latvia before the world cup at Milton Keynes, UK. The High Commissioner and officials from the High Commission were on call until the team left for South Africa.

The High Commission received an award from Ben TV for an excellent customer service and the commitment to promoting Ghana's image. The Commonwealth Secretariat was among several organisations that considered the performances of all the High Commissions and Embassies in the UK and Ghana was selected for the award. This climaxed the two years in review and served as a benchmark for further improvements and for other missions to emulate.