On Wednesday, 18th November, 2020, the new Chancery building of the Embassy of Ghana in Belgium, located at Avenue de Tervuren 391, 1150 Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Brussels, was commissioned.

The virtual event was graced by the Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (MP). Also in attendance were the Hon. Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mohammad Habibu Tijani (MP), and other officials from the Ministry in Accra.

The Guest of Honour at the event was Amb. Olivier Belle, Head of Protocol Directorate of the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, representing the Federal Government of the Kingdom of Belgium. Other invited guests were Amb. Diana Aconcia, Head of the European Union Delegation to Ghana; H.E. Isaac Nyenabo II, Ambassador of Liberia to Belgium and Coordinator of the West African Group of Ambassadors; and H.E. Jonas Hemou, the ECOWAS Permanent Representative to the European Union and OACPS. Others were representatives of Sienna Services Limited, the contractor of the project, representatives of the Ghana Institute of Architects, the Ghana Valuation Board, Ghana Council - Belgium, Nananom Association - Belgium, the National Union of Ghana Students - Belgium, and staff of the Embassy.

In her opening remarks, the Ambassador of Ghana to the Kingdom of Belgium, H.E. Sena Siaw-Boateng, expressed gratitude to the Honourable Minister and all who played various roles towards the successful completion of the new Chancery project. She stated that the relocation of the Embassy’s Chancery building from Boulevard General Wahis 7 was occasioned, among other factors, by structural defects and high maintenance cost of the old building which was purchased by the Government of Ghana in 1985.

She announced that the Embassy’s Chancery Section had relocated to the new building and that the Consular Section was still operating from the old building, pending the completion of the setup required to provide consular services at the new facility.

The Guest of Honour, Amb. Olivier Belle, expressed joy at the commissioning of the new Chancery building. He noted that Belgium was a major centre of diplomatic activities in the world, in view of the high number of diplomats and diplomatic institutions accredited in the country.

He highlighted the importance of the bilateral relations between Ghana and Belgium and was hopeful that the commissioning of the new Chancery building will help deepen the relations.

In her statement, the Hon. Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (MP), congratulated Amb. Sena Siaw-Boateng, staff of the Embassy, the Contractor and the technical team to working assiduously to complete the project. She observed that Belgium was the centre of European diplomacy, as it hosted the Headquarters of the European Union; the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and other international organisations. Ghana’s presence in Brussels, according to her, was therefore bound to remain a permanent feature of her foreign policy.

She stated that with the commissioning of the new Chancery building, she believed the time had come for Belgium to also re-open its Embassy in Accra to further deepen the mutually beneficial relations between the two countries. She seized the opportunity to express gratitude to the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium for the invaluable support and cooperation it was extending to the Ghana Embassy in Brussels.

The Hon. Minister emphasised that the future of Ghana-Belgium relations should not only be focused on Belgium being the capital of the European Union, but also on the increasingly strategic importance of Ghana to the rest of the world. She alluded to Ghana’s new status as host of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), noting that like Belgium, Ghana had become the trade capital of the African Continent; hence, the imperative for Accra and Brussels to step up engagements in a manner that will facilitate increased trade and investment cooperation between the two countries and continents. She observed that the direct flights operated by Brussels Airlines to Accra should be a strategic enabler for this deepened relations.

On behalf of the Hon. Minister, Amb. Sena Siaw-Boateng, assisted by Amb. Olivier Belle, cut the ribbon to the new Chancery building, hoisted the Ghana National Flag and unveiled the plaque to mark the official commissioning of the building.

EMBASSY OF GHANA, BRUSSELS
NOVEMBER 2020