Ghanaian Battalion visited by Ayorkor Botchwey at UNIFIL in Lebanon.

As part of her four-day business trip to Lebanon, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the minister of foreign affairs and regional integration, made a courtesy call on the Ghanaian Battalion at the UNIFIL headquarters.

With more than 850 personnel, Ghana is the oldest and one of the largest contributors now to UNIFIL.

According to a statement released by the Ministry on Friday, 115 of these were women peacekeepers, making Ghana the largest contingent with the highest number of women peacekeepers.

It was stated that the Ghanaian contingent had engaged in both operational and humanitarian activities since their arrival in Lebanon in 1978, including blue line patrols, social outreach programmes, health outreach programmes, and capacity building for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and other governmental institutions.

During the visit, Colonel Kwarteng, the Commanding Officer of GhanaBatt 89, gave the Minister an update on the state of operations and said that despite some recent occurrences, the officers' spirits and morale remained strong.

The Ghana battalion was thanked from the bottom of her heart by Madam Botchwey for their committed service to the Mission, and she urged them to keep up their high level of devotion and dedication to their duties.

The Minister met separately with Brigadier General Joseph Auon, Lebanon's Chief of Defence Staff, and Mr. Maurice Sleem, Lebanon's Minister of Defence, both of whom praised the Ghana battalion's commitment and professionalism.

Mr. Sleem and Brig. Gen. Auon thanked Ghana's government for the assistance it had provided Lebanon since 1978 by sending troops to UNIFIL and vowed to support the Ghana battalion without reservation.

Following that, Madam Botchwey met with Mr. Najib Mikati, the prime minister of Lebanon, and Mr. Mostafa Bayram, the minister of labour.

Mr. Tony Saliba, the head of state security in Lebanon, and Mr. Elias Baysari, the head of general security in Ghana, will talk about relations between the two countries as well as the welfare of Ghanaian migrants.

The Minister asked the Lebanese authorities to reevaluate the assured system at the talks and brought up the difficulties some Ghanaian economic migrants faced.

The relevant government organisations declared their willingness to collaborate with the Ghanaian organisations and the Honorary Consul of Ghana in Lebanon to write a contract that would offer the right framework and a welcoming atmosphere for Ghanaian workers there.

The Minister paid a visit to the Honorary Consulate of Ghana and praised Mr. Ali Samih Jaafar, the Honorary Consul, for his ongoing efforts to improve the lives of Ghanaians living in Lebanon. He also expressed the hope that he would keep pushing for the recruitment of more Lebanese companies to Ghana.