It was pomp and celebration as the Mission marked the anniversary with a choral musical concert at the Phoenicia Hotel, Florian in the Mediterranean Island nation’s capital Valletta, featuring the Winneba Youth Choir.

The anniversary was capped with a thanksgiving service at the Church of Pentecost Malta branch in Birkirkara.

The President of Malta, Myriam Spiteri Debono, was the guest of honour at the programme well attended by high-profile Ghanaian delegates led by Ambassador-at-Large and Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, who represented President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Stephen Asamoah-Boateng; the Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo Markin; Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku Mantey, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, Michael Aaron Oquaye Jr, as well as Barbara Akuokor Benisa, High Commissioner of Ghana to Malta, and officials of the mission who hosted about 250 guests. 

The youth choir, known for its foot-throbbing and soul-searching chorales, entertained the audience to expectation with many local choral songs and universal hymns that left many of the guests, including the Maltese, looking forward to their return.

Patrons were also treated to a variety of Ghanaian finger foods and drinks, such as fried yam, Kelewele, chinchinga and sobolo, on the theme, “Taste Ghana”, while the delegation and the Ghanaian community showcased the rich Ghanaian culture in their apparel.

Also in attendance were Maltese Ministers of State, parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps, the Maltese business community as well as a section of the Ghanaian diaspora community.

Ghana relocated its Mission in Libya which was responsible for that country and other Mediterranean countries in August 2014, making it the only fully fledged Sub Saharan diplomatic mission in Valletta, Malta.

Strong bonds

Addressing the gathering, the President of Malta congratulated the Mission on its 10th anniversary in Malta.

Dr George Vella (4th from left), former President of Malta, assisting Nana Bediatuo Asante (3rd from right), to cut the anniversary cake. With them are Alexander Afenyo-Markin (2nd from left), Majority Leader in Parliament; Stephen Asamoah-Boateng (2nd from right), Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs; Mark Okraku-Mantey (left), Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture; Michael Oquaye Jr (right), CEO, Ghana Free Zones Authority; Miriam Vella (3rd from left), wife of Dr George Vella, and Barbara Benisa, Ghana’s High Commissioner to Malta (4th from right)

She highlighted the strong bonds of friendship between Ghana and Malta since the 1970s when the two countries established diplomatic relations.

Mrs Debono said the relations had been further consolidated with the exchange of high-level visits by both countries.  

The President also underscored the socio-economic cooperation between Ghana and Malta and expressed the hope that the relations would be broadened to cover more areas of cooperation between both countries.

For his part, Nana Bediatuo Asante thanked the government and the people of Malta for supporting the activities of the mission since its relocation to Malta 10 years ago.  

He recalled the visit of President Akufo-Addo to Malta in 2019, the recent visit by former President of Malta, Dr George Vella, and his spouse to Ghana in March this year and other similar high-level visits which had characterised relations between Ghana and Malta.

Nana Bediatuo Asante affirmed that Malta and Ghana enjoyed an excellent tradition of cooperation at both the bilateral and multilateral levels which had culminated in the support for each other’s candidature for positions at international fora.

“The relocation of the Mission to Malta has yielded political, economic and cultural benefits and contributed to the development of our economies”, Ambassador Nana Bediatuo Asante further stated.

The Secretary to President Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that both countries would enjoy stronger and closer relations in the years ahead.

In a pre-recorded message, former President Vella, who as the Foreign Affairs Minister mooted the idea of Ghana considering relocating its Mission to Malta at the time many countries were closing diplomatic missions due to the crisis, congratulated the High Commission for playing a pivotal role in enhancing relations between both countries.

He articulated Ghana’s credentials as a beacon of democracy and peace and commended it for the important role it played in promoting global peace and security, particularly promoting peace and security in West Africa and Africa as a whole.

There were pre-recorded goodwill messages from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, and her Maltese counterpart, Ian Borg.

Ms Botchwey commended the High Commissioner, and the staff of the Mission for their dedication and commitment to strengthen relations between Ghana and Malta.

For their part, Messrs Afenyo- Markin, Mantey and Oquaye Jnr took turns to convey the commitment of the government of Ghana to enhance relations with Malta in the tourism, trade and industry sectors and noted that potential investors would benefit from a wide range of incentives.

In her welcome address, Ghana’s High Commissioner to Malta thanked the President of Malta for the support extended to the Mission since its relocation from Libya to Malta in August 2014.

Over the past 10 years, both sides had taken deliberate steps to deepen the relationship Ms Benisa stated, adding “this shared commitment between Ghana and Malta has culminated in the establishment of cooperation in some of the key sectors, including education, health fisheries, trade and commerce, aquaculture, gaming and sports development”.

The High Commissioner expressed the hope that relations between Ghana and Malta would be strengthened further in the coming years.