Departing Hungarian Ambassador To Ghana Calls On Foreign Affairs Minister
The outgoing Ambassador of Hungary to Ghana, H.E. András Szabós, on Wednesday, 30th June, 2021 paid a farewell call on the Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in Accra. H.E. András Szabós, a career diplomat was appointed Ambassador to Ghana in 2016 and concurrently accredited to Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo and Burkina Faso.
During the visit, Ghana’s foreign Minister congratulated the outgoing Ambassador on the successful completion of his official tour of duty.
The Minister acknowledged that bilateral relations between Ghana and Hungary have been cordial and both countries have adopted common positions at international fora, particularly, within the context of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM).
Honourable Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey enumerated some of the interventions the Ambassador chalked during his duty tour in Ghana , which resulted in the visit of Mr. Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Policy from 30th November to 1st December, 2017 for the official opening of the Hungarian Embassy in Accra, the establishment of the Hungarian Business Forum and the forthcoming two day official visit of the President of Hungary, H.E János Áder to Ghana, commencing on 13th January 2022, which will provide a unique opportunity for both countries to identify new areas for cooperation and elevate bilateral relations between the two countries to a higher level.
She again mentioned that during the Ambassador’s tenure , Ghana’s Parliament ratified the agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption for Holders of Diplomatic and Service Passports (November, 2019) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation in the field of Water Management, with a commitment to work toward establishing a framework for a swift and seamless co-operation between the parties on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit (January 2019) was signed.
Honourable Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey again stressed on the €50 million contract signed between the Jospong Group of Companies and the Government of Hungary for the construction of waste water treatment plants in Tamale and Takoradi will ensure that Ghana achieves its targets under the UN SDG Goal (6) on clean water and sanitation.
In 2017, former Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Mohammad Habibu Tijani, led Ghana’s delegation to the 17th edition of the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) World Export Development Forum (WEDF), in Budapest , during which discussions were held with the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Mr. Péter Szijjártó and the Minister for Human Capacities, Hon. Zoltán Balog, with a view to enhancing cooperation between Ghana and Hungary, particularly in the fields of education, culture and sports.
In the area of education, Honourable Ayorkor Botchwey acknowledged the immense contribution Hungary has made towards education in Ghana and expressed appreciation for the signing of an agreement with Ghana’s Ministry of Education through which the scholarships awarded to Ghanaian students have been increased from 50 to 100 annually.
On the COVID-19 pandemic, she commended the Hungarian Government’s donation of 3,300 pieces of surgery masks and N9s face masks to Ghana as its contribution towards the fight against the pandemic in Ghana and emphasized that the gesture, which was facilitated by the Ambassador and Mr. Imre Hegyesi, Hungarian General Manager of a Takoradi Based sludge management company in 2020 is deeply appreciated.
Honourable Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey assured the outgoing Ambassador of Government’s resolve and commitment to leverage Ghanas role as Chair of ECOWAS for the promotion of democracy and good governance as well as the pursuit of peace and security within the West Africa region and the continent at large.
Foreign Minister Ayorkor finally affirmed to the outgoing Ambassador, the Ministry’s cooperation and support for his successor to further consolidate Ghana-Hungary relations and wished him and his family Godspeed in returning to Budapest and success in his future endeavours
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