Outgoing Ambassador of Hungary calls on Foreign Affairs Minister

The outgoing Ambassador of Hungary to Ghana, H.E. András Szabós, has paid a farewell call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey on Wednesday, 30^th June, 2021.

András Szabós, who is a career diplomat was appointed Ambassador to Ghana in 2016 and he is concurrently accredited to Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo and Burkina Faso.

The Minister congratulated the Ambassador on the successful completion of his official tour of duty.

She 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);

Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey applauded the interventions of the Ambassador, which resulted in the visit of Mr. Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Policy from 30^th November to 1^st 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 13^th 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 mentioned that during his tenure as Ambassador, 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.

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey added that 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.

The Minister 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.

She therefore commended the Hungary Government’s donation of 3,300 pieces of surgery masks and N9s face masks to Ghana as its contribution towards the fight against the COVID-19 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.

He also assured the Ambassador of Government’s resolve and commitment to leverage Ghana’s 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.