Draft Diaspora Engagement Policy ready for validation
The Draft Diaspora Engagement Policy that will provide guidelines on government engagements with Ghanaians in the Diaspora is ready for validation.
The draft document will be presented to stakeholders during the 2019 Ghana Diaspora Celebration and Homecoming Summit slated for July 3-6.
The policy document is intended to encourage more Ghanaians in the Diaspora to bring their professional expertise and skills, financial resources and investment opportunities back home towards nation building
Mr Akwasi Awua Ababio, a Director at the Diaspora Affairs, Office of the President, announced this when he addressed a news conference in Accra on Tuesday.
He said the document would be made available to participants at this year’s Homecoming Summit for their inputs and subsequent validation.
He said the policy document covered all aspects and concerns by Ghanaians in the Diasporas and would become the guiding principle, which every government would work with in relation to the Diasporan affiliated to Ghana.
Mr Awua Ababio noted that the Akufo-Addo’s Government recognised the contributions of Ghanaians in the Diaspora,and charged the Diaspora Affairs Unit to institutionalise the Ghana Diaspora Celebration and Homecoming Summit, which had become a biennial event.
This year’s Homecoming Summit, christened “The Year of Return” would come off at the Accra International Conference Centre from July 3 to 6, on the theme: “Recognising Diaspora Contributions towards nation building”.
The event is designed to recognise and celebrate the immense contributions of Ghanaians living abroad and welcome non-Ghanaians who link their ancestry to Ghana or Africa.
“We are expecting delegates from over 50 countries to attend the three-day summit to aid Ghana’s socio-economic development, maintain its position as a leader on the African Continent, and network with like-minded people” Mr Awua Ababio stated.
He said various committees and sub-committees from the various participating countries held stakeholders’ meetings and organised road shows.
Those meetings, he said, were used to outline the objectives of the summit and the role every person with Ghanaian connection could played in complementing Ghana’s development efforts.
Some of the road shows were organised in Belgium, Canada, United Kingdom and United States of America.
The Ghana Diaspora Homecoming Summit would be climaxed with a gala on July 6.
Source: GNA