By Daniel Adu Darko
Accra, Jan. 30, GNA – The Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms. Berenice Owen-Jones, has called on Australia and Ghana to rise together as global voices for democracy, international law and multilateral cooperation amid growing global uncertainty.
She said the two countries, bound by shared values and Commonwealth ties, had both an opportunity and a responsibility to take the lead in promoting diplomacy and stability in the international system.
Ms. Owen-Jones made the call in Accra on January 26, 2026, at an event to mark Australia Day.
She noted that the world was grappling with rising geopolitical tensions, democratic backsliding in some regions and the borderless threat of climate change, stressing that these challenges demanded stronger and more coordinated diplomacy.
“We begin the new year at a moment of significant global uncertainty. The international rules-based order faces serious challenges,” she said.
According to her, as a middle power and G20 country with wide-ranging global interests, Australia was prepared to work harder within existing and emerging coalitions and through the multilateral system as a “diplomatic force multiplier.”
“Ghana and Australia share fundamental values, as well as Commonwealth ties. In this environment, both nations have both an opportunity and a responsibility. We must be voices for stability, for international law, for multilateral cooperation, and for the dignity and rights of all nations, large and small,” she said.
Ms. Owen-Jones said this commitment required continued mutual support in regional and international forums to help address conflicts and reinforce the global order.
Touching on bilateral relations, she said cooperation between Ghana and Australia had strengthened significantly during her tenure, underpinned by deliberate engagement and expanding economic ties.
She noted that Australian companies continued to play important roles in Ghana’s economy, particularly in the extractives sector.
“The relationship between Ghana and Australia has deepened significantly during my time here,” she said, adding that more than 170 Australian mining companies were operating across 30 African countries, with investments exceeding A$60 billion.
She said Australia was proud of the contribution of its companies to economic growth and community development across the continent.
Australia Day, observed annually on January 26, is the country’s official national day, commemorating the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. It is marked with community events and citizenship ceremonies across Australia.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey