<<Print>>

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has called for deeper relations between Ghana and Korea to enhance their long-standing diplomatic relations.

She also urged the people of Korea to take advantage of Ghana’s business environment which is buzzing with a lot of opportunities.

She made this known on Monday, March 21, 2022, when the Korean Ambassador-designate to Ghana, Jon Tong Chal, presented his Open Letter to her at the ministry.

This is ahead of the presentation of his credentials to the president on March 22, 2022.

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey added that while there has been a glitch in the relations both countries share, she is hopeful that this would be the dawn of new and better cooperation between Ghana and Korea.

“Unfortunately, there hasn’t been enough cooperation for us to see the blossoming for what started as a good relationship. In 1997, a deputy foreign minister visited Ghana, that visit was supposed to be the start of a very good deepening of relations between our countries in the area of agriculture, machinery, agricultural exchanges [but] unfortunately, nothing much has happened since.

“I think you being here today sets the stage for us to have very strong relations during your time. I hope this is one of the areas you will focus on,” she said.

She further said that Ghana is replete with opportunities for businesses and investments from Korea and as such, she would encourage more of them to come into the country, being confident that it would be a positive stepping stone into other parts of the continent.

“There’s a lot of potentials: we want to see businesses from your country coming to Ghana, to use it as a stepping stone into the rest of Africa to invest. There’s a lot we can do and that’s what friends do; they share experiences,” she urged.

On his part, the Ambassador-designate, Jon Tong Chal, shared his optimism on meeting those expectations, adding that they have been impressed by the time-tested proven relevance of many of the policies of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo both within the country and in the sub-region.