Mahama receives credentials from 5 new envoys, reaffirms commitment to global cooperation
Speaking after receiving the letters of credentials from the new envoys, President Mahama reiterated Ghana's commitment to deepening bilateral relations with friendly countries worldwide. He emphasised the importance of fostering mutually beneficial partnerships, particularly in the areas of trade, economic development, technical and security cooperation, as well as tourism and cultural exchanges.
The new envoys who presented their credentials are:
– Her Excellency Mrs. Maria Da Conceicao De Souse Pilar, Ambassador of the Republic of Portugal.
– His Excellency Conrad Vincent Mederic, High Commissioner of The Republic of Seychelles.
– His Excellency Citizen Jesús Albert Garcia, Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
– His Excellency Gonfouli Souariba, Ambassador of the Republic of Chad.
– His Excellency Maximin Mangoualamangoye, High Commissioner of the Republic of Gabon.
President Mahama extended his felicitations to the envoys on their appointments and expressed confidence that their presence in Ghana would contribute significantly to solidifying existing friendships and exploring new avenues for cooperation between Ghana and their respective countries.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The National
2 hours ago
- The National
More than 1.3 million people returned to homes in Sudan, UN says
At least 1.3 million internally displaced people who fled the fighting in Sudan have gone back home, the UN said, as it called for more international aid to help the displaced rebuild their lives. Another 320,000 refugees who had left the country, crossed back to Sudan this year, mostly from Egypt and South Sudan, the UN said on Friday. The fighting had subsided in the "pockets of relative safety" that people are beginning to return to, but the situation remains highly precarious, the organisation added. Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The fighting has killed tens of thousands. The RSF lost control of the capital, Khartoum, in March and the regular army now controls Sudan's centre, north and east. In a joint statement, the UN's IOM migration agency, UNHCR refugee agency and UNDP development agency called for an urgent increase in financial support for the recovery as people begin to return, with humanitarian operations "massively underfunded". Sudan has 10 million internally displaced people, including 7.7 million forced from their homes by the current conflict, they said. That is "one in three people", said Mamadou Dian Balde, the UNHCR's regional refugee co-ordinator for the Sudan crisis, who has just returned from Khartoum and Wadi Halfa at the border with Egypt. Mr Balde said people returning is a "desperate call for the end of war" so they can rebuild their lives. 'Not only do they mark a hopeful but fragile shift, they also indicate already stretched host countries under increasing strain," he told a press briefing in Geneva. As hope returns, he said, so does the role of the international community to help people coming back. More than four million have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Sudan is "the largest humanitarian catastrophe facing our world and also the least remembered", said the IOM's regional director Othman Belbeisi, speaking from Port Sudan. "War has unleashed hell for millions or ordinary people who dream of raising their families and living their lives in peace in harmony with their neighbours," he said. "Sudan is a living nightmare." Mr Belbeisi also said 71 per cent of returns had been to Al Jazira state, with eight per cent to Khartoum. Other returnees were mostly heading for Sennar state. Al Jazira and Sennar are south-east of the capital. "We expect 2.1 million to return to Khartoum by the end of this year but this will depend on many factors, especially the security situation and the ability to restore services," said Mr Belbeisi. With the RSF holding nearly all of the western Darfur region, Kordofan in the south has become the main battleground in recent weeks. He said the "vicious, horrifying civil war continues to take lives with impunity" and implored the warring factions to put down their guns. "The war has unleashed hell for millions and millions of ordinary people," Mr Belbeisi said. "Sudan is a living nightmare. The violence needs to stop." Luca Renda, UNDP's resident representative in Sudan, warned of further cholera outbreaks in Khartoum if broken services were not restored. "What we need is for the international community to support us," he said. Mr Renda said about 1,700 wells need rebuilding, while at least six Khartoum hospitals and more than 35 schools need urgent repairs. He also sounded the alarm over the "massive" amount of unexploded ordnance littering the city and the need for decontamination. He said anti-personnel mines had also been found in at least five locations in Khartoum. "It will take years to fully decontaminate the city," he said, speaking from Port Sudan.

Zawya
2 hours ago
- Zawya
Women need better protection and support to be able to engage in the political process, say women in Tarhuna
Sixteen women from Tarhuna joined Deputy Special Representative for the Secretary General, Political, Stephanie Koury in a consultation meeting on the political process on Wednesday and stressed the need for better protection from violence, particularly online, as well as representation in decision making roles at state institutions. 'We know that Libyan women are very competent, but with the intimidation and threats, women are reluctant to step forward and engage in the political process,' said one participant suggesting that a closed list system for electoral candidates helped support better female participation. Another participant, who's sister was a prominent female figure in the community, highlighted that they had seen sustained hate campaigns against her for a number of years. 'This behavior needs to criminalized. Women are subject to violence and it should be stopped,' she said. The participants discussed the options put forward by the Advisory Committee and unanimously agreed that option 3 was the best way forward to overcome the political deadlock. 'The Libyan feeling is that UNSMIL and the political situation are going in circles,' said one woman, adding, 'to us it feels like the situation has been managed, not solved, and the same ideas are being recycled.' They added that representation for women in institutional bodies and at decision-making level was crucial. 'Quotas are needed, because without them we would probably have only men elected,' said one participant, adding that 30 per cent was not enough, but would be acceptable for now to help build up to a point where 50 per cent of those elected were women, reflecting the demographics of the population. The group discussed the importance of empowering women, and highlighted the Ra'idat programme [link] – with two of the participants having applied for this year's programme – as part of the work being done to support young women. 'Hopefully in the future we will not need a quota, but it is not a political tradition here to have women participate so we need it now,' said one woman. Others agreed saying that Libya was not experienced at democracy and they would like to empower more women to be able to engage. 'There needs to be more outreach and education to support women, fostering public awareness and cultural engagement' stressed another participant. 'We need to be educating them about their political rights.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).


Khaleej Times
3 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Syria says meeting with Israeli officials sought to 'contain escalation'
A Syrian diplomatic source said Saturday (July 26) that a US-mediated meeting with Israeli officials in Paris sought to "contain the escalation" after recent sectarian violence in southern Syria prompted Israeli intervention. Israel launched strikes this month on Damascus and Druze-majority Sweida province, saying it was acting both in support of the religious minority and to enforce its demands for a demilitarised southern Syria. The Syrian diplomatic source told state television on Saturday that the Paris meeting "brought together a delegation from the foreign ministry and the general intelligence service with the Israeli side", and addressed "recent security developments and attempts to contain the escalation in southern Syria". Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. On Thursday (July 24), US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack had said he held talks with unspecified Syrian and Israeli officials in Paris. A senior diplomat had previously told AFP that Barrack would be facilitating talks between Damascus's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. According to the source cited by state TV, the meeting "addressed the possibility of reactivating the disengagement agreement with international guarantees, while demanding the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from points where they recently advanced". After the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that used to separate the countries' forces in the strategic Golan Heights. It has since conducted incursions deeper into southern Syria, demanding the area's total demilitarisation. Damascus has previously confirmed holding indirect contacts with Israel seeking a return to the 1974 disengagement agreement that created the buffer zone. The Paris meeting "did not result in any final agreements but rather represented initial consultations that aimed to reduce tensions and reopen communication channels in light of the ongoing escalation since early December", the diplomatic source said. More meetings were planned, the source said, adding that the Syrian side emphasised that the country's unity and sovereignty were non-negotiable. "Sweida and its people are an integral part of the Syrian state," the delegation said, according to the source. Syrian and Israeli officials had previously met in Baku on July 12, according to a diplomatic source in Damascus, coinciding with a visit to Azerbaijan by Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The two countries have technically been at war since 1948, and Israel has occupied the Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria, since 1967. After Assad's ouster, Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria to prevent key military assets from falling into the hands of the new Islamist-led administration.