A year ago
With the support being received from the Paris Club and China about debt relief, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed optimism that the nation will reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before the end of this month.
"We shall be able to go to the board of the fund to finalise a definitive agreement by the end of March," he said, adding that a group from the Chinese EXIM Bank was in Accra over the weekend to meet with representatives of the Ministry of Finance.
The President said that the accord will pave the way for a robust economic rebound.
Speaking to the diplomatic community last Monday evening at a retreat hosted by the President at the Peduase Lodge on the Aburi Hills in the Eastern Region, the President said that "we managed to get the staff level agreement in record time in December last year, whose terms we are systematically fulfilling, including the difficult but ultimately highly successful process of the domestic debt exchange programme," which had been a difficult but ultimately highly successful process.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration hosted the annual gathering, which gave members of the diplomatic corps and the heads of authorised representatives of international organisations the chance to mingle, strengthen friendships, and collaborate with the nation.
African elections
The President also hoped that Nigeria's post-general election difficulties would be handled peacefully and in line with the law, allowing the will of the people to triumph.
It was essential, he said, since what happened in Nigeria had an effect on West Africa's democracy and the entire continent of Africa.
President Akufo-Addo expressed support for the "brotherly people of our great neighbour" on behalf of the people and the country. We send them our warmest wishes and the blessings of God.
At a joint news conference in Abuja, various Nigeria opposition groups asked for fresh elections, describing results presently being released by their electoral authority as "heavily doctored and manipulated".
A new chairperson for the Independent National Electoral Commission was supported by the People's Democratic Party, the Labour Party, and the African Democratic Congress (INEC).
The parties said that because they no longer had faith in Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the electoral board, they would no longer participate in the ongoing collation process.
Akufo-Addo went on to praise nearby nations including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic for hosting the students during the early phases of the conflict after mentioning how the Russia-Ukraine war had disrupted the education of some 460 Ghanaian students in Ukraine.
He claimed that 253 students were removed from Ukraine for repatriation in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with assistance from the government.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, in coordination with the Consulate General in Dubai, provided consular support to stranded Ghanaians in detention facilities, according to President Akufo-Addo.
He continued by saying that another 431 Ghanaians, including some African migrants, were also evacuated from a medical centre. There were 341 males, 88 females, and two infants under the age of three in all.
The President said that the government and IOM continues to repatriate willing migrants from Libya, and that 754 of them were flown home on five special flights last year. This year, the drill is anticipated to continue.
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