Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency in the Volta Region, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has congratulated the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey for expressing interest and nomination as Ghana’s candidate for Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
According to the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, the entire colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee wish her success in October’s election.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has declared her intent to contest for the position of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration is pleased to announce that Hpn. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has formerly expressed interest in the position of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth”
“Based on an understanding among members of the Commonwealth that its next Secretary-General would come from Africa, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo nominated Hon. Botchwey as Ghana’s candidate. A new new Secretary-General of the 56-member organisation will be elected on 22nd October, 2024, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, to replace Baroness Patricia Scotland, a dual Dominican-British citizen, whose second and final tenure expires at the end of 2024.” A statement released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry stated.
Reacting to this on X, Okudzeto Ablakwa said “I congratulate Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey on her expression of interest and nomination as Ghana’s candidate for Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.”
He added that former president John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) fully support her.
“As our Flagbearer and Former President, H.E. John Mahama intimated at his Chatham House lecture last year, Hon. Botchwey can count on the full support of the NDC.”
“Consistent with our longstanding national tradition of rallying behind Ghanaian candidates for international assignments regardless of partisan affiliation — my colleagues and I on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee wish her success in October’s election.”
“This is about our dearest Ghana, and our collective glory. Go make us proud, Hon. Minister.” Ablakwa wrote.
Nominating her, President Akufo-Addo stated that “I have strong confidence in Foreign Minister Botchwey to lead our aspirations for renewal and for building future-looking resilience and thriving economies through community cooperation and action, as underscored at Kigali, Rwanda during the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)”
“Hon. Botchway has been endorsed by Africa Unions, and also enjoys considerable support across all the regions of the Commonwealth. Hon. Botchway is a lawyer, diplomat, politician, communications professional with extensive experience in international relations and diplomacy and public service. She is also a member of the National Security Council.“
“The Commonwealth is a diverse intergovernmental association headed by King Charles III, it promotes, among other objectives, democratic governance among member-states,and cooperation in trade, education, climate advocacy and transparency in financial systems.”
Hon. Botchway has served as Ghana’s Foreign Minister for the past seven years, during which she steered Ghana’s momentous two-year tenure on the United Nations Security Council, ending in December 2023. She also chaired the 15-member Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Council of Ministers for two successive terms from 2020-2022.
