The Ambassador of Lebanon to Ghana, Maher Kheir, has been given the honorary title of “King of Ambassadors” by the Sultan Omar Farouk Saeed, the Sarkin Zongo of Ashanti Region.
The title which is in recognition of the Ambassadors several efforts in contributing to social development in Ghana was conferred on him when he led a delegation of the Lebanese community to pay a courtesy call on SarkinZongo.
In a brief remark, the Ambassador explained that his visit was an expression of Lebanon’s multicultural society and the pluralism inthe two countries was crucial in promoting the peace and harmony the world needs now.
“Lebanon is a country of pluralism. It has 18 religious communities living together in harmony and peace. This wonderful mosaic is an example and symbol of unity, brotherhood and tolerance. It is also a great cultural richness and a sublime message in humanity,” he noted
Mr Kheir lauded the Zongo community for their contribution to national cohesion and development.
“There is some similarity between Lebanon and Ghana. Ghana is also a multicultural country, and we value your position and your effective role in the economic and cultural development agenda of this lovely nation” he added.
The Lebanese Ambassador noted that the Embassy had contributed towards several social, economic and humanitarian initiatives and would do more to support the community.
He noted that they could reach more students to enable them access quality education.
“Because we believe that education is the main way to build good generations, we launched the scholarship programme in 2013. About 400 students in Accra and Kumasi have benefited from so far. We will do as much as possible to support more students,” he stressed.
Sultan Omar Farouk Saeed lauded the efforts of the Lebanese people in Ghana particularly their contributions to Zongo communities.
He expressed gratitude for the scholarship programme which continues to support several underprivileged groups of people in society.
He further appealed to the Ambassador and the Lebanese community to expand the net to cover more Zongo communities.
He bemoaned the alarming rate of school dropouts due to financial challenges and made a passionate appeal for assistance to finish the ongoing construction of an ICT centre through the provision of computers and other logistics.
Mr Odaymat (honorary head of the Lebanese Community) noted that the Lebanese had built three schools – one Junior High School, one Senior High School and a University which is currently admitting its first batch of students – to encourage education.