Mr Rune Skinnebach officially began his duties as the new Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Ghana today.

He assumed his new role after presenting his Letters of Credence to the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, at the Jubilee House.

The ceremony marked the for­mal start of Ambassador Skinne­bach’s mission to further deepen the EU’s partnership with Ghana.

• President Mahama (right) with Mr Skinnebach

Ahead of the presidential audi­ence, the Ambassador presented his Open Letters to Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting with President Mahama, both leaders highlighted the long-standing and fruitful partnership between the European Union and Ghana and reaffirmed their shared commit­ment to deepening cooperation.

Mr Skinnebach expressed his excitement to represent the EU in Ghana, stating: “I look forward to further strengthening Ghana-EU relations during my four-year tenure. Ghana remains a preferred trading partner to the European Union, and our collaboration con­tinues to deepen.

We commit ourselves as a part­ner to Ghana’s future, as evident in our continued commitments on youth, education, and sustainability in Ghana. I will also work to es­tablish the EU as Ghana’s primary security partner, and Ghana’s pre­ferred political partner of choice.”

Mr Skinnebach is a seasoned diplomat with over 20 years of distinguished service in the EU’s external relations framework.

In his previous roles, Mr Skin­nebach served as EU Ambassador to the Republic of Malawi, Deputy Head of Division for Pan-African Affairs at the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, and Head of the Political, Press and Information Section at the EU Delegation to Zambia. He started his diplomatic career back in 1994 at the EU Delegation to Ghana.