By Iddi Yire
Accra, Dec 3, GNA – Dr Lawrence Tetteh, the Founder and President of Worldwide Miracle Outreach, has lauded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for the introduction of the chip-embedded passport.
That, he said, would go a long way to demonstrate the Government’s commitment to adhering to international travel standards.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the launch of the passport, Dr Tetteh said he had been an integral part of its introduction, over the past nine years, and was happy he had seen its fruition.
Dr Tetteh, a renowned evangelist, who studied Economics and International Relations in Hungary, noted that until December 2, Ghana was the only country in the West African sub-region without a chip-embedded passport.
“And so, for some of us who are world travelers, it’s been a very great achievement, and I want to congratulate the collaborators, stakeholders of the Ghana-Hungarian friendship and collaboration”.
He commended Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and her predecessor, for their efforts and commitments to getting the agenda executed.
“It’s good to see that a lot of people have played roles, and we are very thankful for this partnership, especially the private partnership coming together to build a formidable team.”
Dr Tetteh congratulated Ms Botchwey on her election as the next Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and hailed the Government of Hungary for supporting Ghana’s socioeconomic development.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday launched the chip-embeded passport in Accra.
Pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph One of the Passports and Travel Certificates Act 1967 (NLCD 155), the Foreign Ministry started the project in 2016.
Through a build, operate, and transfer (BOT) arrangement, the Ministry partnered with the Biometric Travel Solutions Limited, a private Ghanaian firm, to undertake the project.
It aims at bringing Ghanaian passports into strict compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s regulations and the quickly evolving global interoperability standards for biometric identification.
The partnership between Ghana’s Foreign Ministry and Biometric Travel Solutions, also has other stakeholders from Hungary.
GNA