By Benjamin A. Commey
Accra, July 26, GNA – The Korean government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Ghana to host the 2023 United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial conference in Accra in December.
Korea, the past-immediate host of the conference in 2021, said it would make available 22 vehicles to Ghana to facilitate conference activities.
The vehicles, including 12 protocol cars and 10 vans, are currently in transit from Korea to Ghana.
“We hope this support will help Ghana to host the December conference, successfully,” Mr Jung-Taek Lim, the Korean Ambassador to Ghana said when he presented Information technology equipment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, in Accra on Tuesday.
The equipment forms part of a $1 million support package to Ghana for the hosting of the conference. They included 10 printers, ten laptops and microphones.
The UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference offers Member States the collective opportunity to strengthen the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and their impact on the communities they serve.
It is the latest in a series of meetings held at the Head of State, Government, and Ministerial level since 2014.
Ghana will host the next edition of the conference, which is slated for December 5-6, this year, in Accra.
Mr Lim said Korea was a staunch supporter of Ghana’s role and contribution to UN Peacekeeping operations.
“That is the reason why my government decided to support Ghana to host the 2023 Peacekeeping Ministerial conference,” he emphasised.
The Ambassador assured that, as the immediate past host of the conference, Korea would cooperate with Ghana to ensure a successful hosting of the event.
Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, who received the equipment on behalf of the Government, thanked Korea for the gesture, which he said symbolised an ‘unbreakable’ relation between the two countries.
He said the donation would solve some of the logistical challenges to hosting the conference, bolster ties and pave the way for further cooperation between Ghana and Korea.
“And for that reason, I feel a sense of relief that we can count on the Republic of Korea and other partners when we encounter challenges along the way,” he said.
Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong indicated that the equipment would immediately be installed to aid the work of the Planning Committee of the Ministerial Meeting, UN staff and conference Secretariat.
GNA