Kumasi, Sept. 22, GNA – Ghanaians living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have been advised to respect the laws of their host country as long as they live in the country to earn a living.
They should always comport themselves and stay away from any activity that is considered illegal in that country.
Alhaji Mohammed Habib Tijani, Ghana’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia who gave the advice, admonished them to be disciplined and exhibit high moral standards to protect the name of Ghana.
The Ambassador was speaking at separate meetings with a cross-section of Ghanaians and leadership of Ghanaian groups at Dammam, Jeddah, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
The meetings, according to a press release from the embassy, were to allow the Ambassador to interact with Ghanaian nationals in the Kingdom and also brief them on measures the Government was putting in place to make their stay in that country smooth.
He noted that “These meetings will allow my office to renew my commitment to work with all categories of Ghanaians irrespective of the religious, ethnic, political or cultural persuasion”.
At one of such meetings, Alhaji Habib Tijani spent time explaining to participants some home-grown policies that were being implemented by the Akufo-Addo led administration as part of the government’s efforts to transform Ghana’s economy and also address unemployment.
He indicated that policies such as the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), the Free SHS, the One Village One Dam (1V1D), One District One Factory(1D1F), Digitization of the Economy, Digitization of Land, and the Ghana Beyond Aid were already impacting lives and the Ghanaian economy positively.
The Ambassador further said a lot of work was also being done to woo Saudi investors to Ghana to take advantage of these policies being implemented by the Government.
He commended Ghanaians in the Kingdom for comporting themselves well, saying that they were serving as good ambassadors for Ghana.
He assured those working as domestic staff of the government’s commitment to find lasting solutions to the alleged maltreatment that some of them were going through.
“There is no doubt that some of you may fall foul to the laws of the host authorities and are constantly pursued and deported, nonetheless Ghanaian citizens have a very good image of the country.
Talking about the challenges of the Labour and Immigration laws to our citizens, I can assure you of appropriate measures being undertaken to find holistic solutions to the challenges,” he said
At the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (ARAMCO) in Damam, Alhaji Tijani interacted with the Ghanaian Professional Group and was impressed with the quality of Ghanaian technocrats in the Diaspora.
He was also pleased about their readiness to offer technical advice or consultancy to the Government of Ghana and Ghanaian investors when it comes to their respective areas of expertise.
The Ambassador said the contribution of Ghanaian professionals in the form of remittances and other forms of investments in the overall Ghanaian economy could not be measured.
At previous meetings with corporate organisations such as the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) and the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce (FSCC), the Ambassador extended an invitation to Ghanaian investors to turn their attention to Saudi Arabia following the new socio-economic reforms currently taking place in the Kingdom.
He also revealed that models of other countries with the local cultural setting were being reviewed to pave the way for signing agreements to enable Ghana and the Host Authorities to streamline the process of exporting Labour to the Gulf Countries and KSA in particular.
GNA