By Godwill Arthur- Mensah
Accra, Oct.28, GNA-The newly elected Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, on Monday, October 28, arrived home in Accra, to a rousing welcome at the Jubilee Lounge of the Kotoka International Airport.
She was accompanied by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Some chiefs and enthusiastic youths from the Ga Traditional Area welcomed the new Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, amid pomp and pageantry.
Madam Ayorkor Botchwey, in an address, expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo for nominating and campaigning for her to win the Office of the Secretary-General of the 56 member states.
She said the Heads of Governments of the Commonwealth of Nations accepted her campaign message and vision, which enabled her to receive their overwhelming endorsement during the elections.
She pledged to work collaboratively with the leadership of the Commonwealth to deepen democracy, peace, and stability within the Commonwealth, as well as implement measures to mitigate the threats posed by climate change.
She pledged to work hard to create economic opportunities for the teeming youth and the 2.7 billion population of the Commonwealth.
President Akufo-Addo, in brief remarks, expressed confidence in Madam Botchwey’s abilities to deliver.
“I have absolutely no doubt in her ability to succeed. With those qualities of competence, hard work, diligence, honesty, and commitment, she will raise the flag of Ghana high on the global stage,” President Akufo-Addo stated.
The President said Madam Botchwey as Ghana’s Foreign Minister over the past seven years, distinguished herself in all the tasks assigned to her, and has no doubt that she would succeed in her new Office.
Madam Botchwey has become the first female African to assume the Office of the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
She was elected as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth during the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, the capital city of the Pacific Island nation of Samoa.
She takes over from the outgoing Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland of the United Kingdom.
Shortly after the election as the incoming Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland stated on X: “It is my honour to pass the baton to my dear sister, Hon Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who will succeed me as the next Commonwealth Secretary-General.
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who is a lawyer, a diplomat, and a politician, was in the race with two other African candidates, namely Senator Joshua Setipa of Lesotho and Dr Mamadou Tangara of the Gambia.
Prior to the election, she received the endorsement of both President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former President John Dramani Mahama.
GNA