In strengthening institutional cooperation to deliver on the foreign policy objectives of the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs held constructive dialogue during a Retreat held on Monday, 1st December, 2025 to deliberate on pertinent issues.
In his opening remarks, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (MP) indicated that the cooperation between the Ministry and the Select Committee has been remarkable. He used the opportunity to highlight some of the accomplishments of the Ministry in the year 2025 which included:
- the launch of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Heads of Mission to guide the discharge of their duties;
- the establishment of a Delivery Unit to monitor and evaluate the performance of Envoys in line with the KPIs;
- improvement in passport administration with the introduction of same-day service, 30%reduction in passport fees, delivery of passports by courier companies at no cost to applicants, e-tracking and “mobile passport service” to serve individuals with urgent need of the service but are unable to access Passport Application Centres due to challenges;
- Labour Mobility Agreements; and
- Visa Waiver Agreements.
In addition, he shared information on some of the projects to be rolled out by the Ministry in 2026 which are STRIDE Initiative, establishment of data centre and implementation of e-visa with relevant stakeholders.
On his part, the Chairman of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Honourable Alfred Oko Vanderpuije highlighted the cordial relations between the Ministry and the Select Committee and assured of its commitment to collaborate with the Ministry to advance foreign policy objectives and support the effective implementation of programmes and initiatives.
The Ranking Member of the Select Committee, Honourable Samuel Abu Jinapor emphasised the importance of the work of the Ministry in advancing national development.
The Acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Her Excellency Khadija Iddrisu informed of the Ministry’s readiness to hold open dialogue with the Committee to strengthen the partnership.
The engagement concluded with a shared commitment to deepen institutional collaboration and advance the effective implementation of the country’s foreign policy.