The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa, has expressed deep appreciation to the governments of Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire for their exceptional hospitality towards Ghanaians who fled recent communal conflict.
Speaking from Ethiopia, where he is on official engagements, Hon. Ablakwa revealed that he held fruitful telephone discussions with Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabè Abroad, Hon. Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, and Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Diaspora, Hon. Kacou Houadja Léon Adom.
He conveyed the heartfelt gratitude of President John Mahama, the government, and the people of Ghana for what he described as a demonstration of “true Pan-African solidarity” and a firm commitment to ECOWAS free movement protocols.
The discussions produced a three-point roadmap:
- Ensuring the welfare of displaced Ghanaians and assisting their safe return home.
- Holding urgent meetings between the Foreign Ministries of Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana’s embassy officials to explore new measures for safeguarding the affected nationals.
- Facilitating Hon. Ablakwa’s upcoming working visits to both countries to directly engage with the displaced communities and provide assistance.
The two Foreign Ministers have also pledged to accompany the Ghanaian delegation during these visits, which will take place after Hon. Ablakwa concludes high-level commitments in Ethiopia led by Vice President H.E. Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang.
Hon. Ablakwa reaffirmed the Mahama Administration’s commitment to the welfare of all Ghanaians, stating that “no one will be left behind.” He further called for lasting peace in all conflict-prone areas and urged continued openness among African nations in the spirit of Pan-Africanism and the vision of a borderless continent.
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