Mr Speaker, Ghana’s foreign policy remains a central instrument for advancing our national development, safeguarding our sovereignty and projecting our values on the global stage. At a time when the global environment is characterised by profound geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty, climate-related challenges, and evolving security concerns within our sub-region, the Government has taken deliberate steps to ensure that Ghana’s engagement with the world is purposeful, strategic, and responsive to the needs of our people.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stepped up efforts to align Ghana’s external relations with our domestic development priorities.
Mr Speaker, in West Africa, Ghana continues to pursue a policy of good neighbourliness, solidarity and constructive cooperation with all countries in the sub-region. We remain firmly committed to the vision of a peaceful, stable, prosperous and integrated West Africa, grounded in mutual respect, dialogue and collective responsibility.
We must sustain engagement and deepen relations with the AES member states, particularly following their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Ghana believes that continued dialogue and cooperation are indispensable to regional stability and that disengagement only deepens vulnerabilities.
At the continental level, Ghana continues to play an active, principled and forward-looking role in advancing the African Union’s strategic priorities. Ghana currently holds the following prestigious positions: AU Champion on Reparations and AU Champion for African Financial Institutions. Ghana is also the AU Champion for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Mr Speaker, I am humbled by Ghana’s election as the First Vice Chairperson of the African Union (AU) at the 39th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is also gratifying to note that my colleague leaders in West Africa have declared me, John Dramani Mahama, the region’s sole candidate for the position of Chairperson of the African Union when the rotating chairmanship returns to West Africa in 2027.
Mr Speaker, during the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, I raised Ghana’s voice to call for a comprehensive ‘reset’ of the United Nations to better reflect current realities, particularly the role of Africa in global governance and fairness in international financial systems. In line with our multilateral commitments, Ghana announced plans to table a UN resolution recognising the Transatlantic Slave Trade as the greatest crime against humanity and promoting an agenda of acknowledgement, reparative justice, and cultural restitution.
I will formally present the resolution, which has been endorsed and adopted by the African Union, to the UN in March this year for consideration by the UN General Assembly. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established 7 new Passport Application Centres in the Upper East, Oti, Ahafo, Bono East, North East, Savannah and Western North Regions. With this expansion, all sixteen (16) regional capitals now host passport application centres, marking a major milestone in the decentralisation of passport services.
Mr Speaker, to address systemic delays, the ministry implemented a 24-hour passport production operation at the Head Office, enabling the clearance of an inherited backlog of over 40,000 passport applications. As a result of these reforms, Ghana’s passport administration now operates with zero backlog, guaranteeing passport delivery within 15 working days nationwide. To facilitate travel, boost tourism and ease business mobility, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs implemented a five-day visa processing service across Ghana’s Missions abroad.
Concurrently, significant progress has been made in the design and procurement phases of a national electronic visa (e-Visa) platform, with a targeted rollout planned for 2026. Ghana has also secured new visa waiver agreements with 11 countries to facilitate people-to-people exchanges, trade, and investment.
Mr Speaker, to highlight Ghana’s ongoing commitments to international solidarity, we made significant humanitarian donations to Jamaica, Cuba, Sudan, and Palestine to support disaster relief and conflict-related crises. These donations, amounting to millions of cedis, included food, medicine, clothing, and cocoa products.
Mr Speaker, I am pleased to report that remittances from Ghanaians abroad reached a historic high of $7.8 billion in 2025. This is the largest annual inflow ever recorded. This reflects not only confidence in our economy, but the enduring patriotism of our citizens living and working across the world.
These remittances support households, finance education, build homes, seed businesses, and stabilise our foreign exchange position. In many respects, our diaspora has become one of the country’s most reliable development partners, without contracts, conditionalities, or fanfare.
We must intentionally ensure that citizenship, rather than place of residence, determines one’s right to serve the Republic. Ghanaians worldwide who pledge allegiance to this country and make substantial contributions to its development should not be barred from active participation in public affairs, including the opportunity to hold public office, provided there are appropriate measures to ensure loyalty and accountability.
I am, personally, in support of the bipartisan bill currently before Parliament seeking to address this matter.
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