Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey holds diplomatic talks at Caricom Summit

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, played a prominent role as a special guest at the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Summit in Georgetown, Guyana.

According to Graphic Online, the minister engaged in bilateral and multilateral discussions with Caribbean leaders, fostering diplomatic ties and exploring opportunities for collaboration.

Ms. Botchwey held closed-door meetings with leaders including

Read full articlethe Prime Ministers of St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica. She also addressed the CARICOM Council of Ministers in camera and participated in a reception attended by political, diplomatic, and business leaders from the region, including President Alfaan Ali of Guyana, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, and Prime Minister Philip Davis of the Bahamas.

The discussions centered around building on the momentum generated by Ghana's "Year of Return" initiative in 2019 and the subsequent "Beyond the Return" policy. Both initiatives have significantly increased tourist arrivals from the African diaspora to Ghana. The "Year of Return" marked 400 years since the arrival of the first recorded slaves in the Americas, encouraging African descendants to visit and invest in Ghana, their ancestral home.

Ms. Botchwey emphasised the importance of these initiatives in bringing the Caribbean countries and Ghana closer, stating that they present an opportunity to enlarge the market size of Africa and its diaspora, foster economic growth, and reconnect people separated by history and the ocean. She proposed the establishment of a direct air link between the Caribbean and Ghana to boost travel and commerce.

In addition to her engagements, Ms. Botchwey met with the Foreign Minister of St. Lucia, the Foreign Minister of Belize, and the Director-General of the Foreign Ministry of the Bahamas. The African Union has designated the Caribbean as the "sixth region" of Africa, aiming to bridge political and economic gaps between the two regions.

As Ghana's candidate for the position of Commonwealth Secretary-General, Ms. Botchwey highlighted her commitment to strengthening ties within the Commonwealth. The leaders of the 56-member Commonwealth, with an annual economic output of over US$13 trillion, are expected to choose a new secretary-general in October, replacing Baroness Patricia Scotland. The rotational leadership is anticipated to come from Africa.