Foreign Policy Objectives
Good Neighbourliness
To sustain the climate of peace and stability in the West African sub-region and to maintain cordial relations between Ghana and her neighbours as a means to addressing common challenges to development across national frontiers.
Promoting Regional Integration
To give substance to Government’s declaration to make regional integration the flagship of Ghana’s foreign policy and to derive maximum benefit from Ghana’s membership of ECOWAS and other regional economic communities for Ghana’s socio-economic advancement.
International Peace and Security
To champion issues of peace and security, good governance, human rights, gender equality, climate change and sustainable development on regional and global platforms. With collaborative efforts of the international community, Ghana contributes its quota in addressing the security challenges facing the region and the adoption of innovative and responsive mechanisms to the challenges and the fight against terrorism and violent extremism on the African continent.
Support for the African Union
To play a leading role in collective efforts to promote peace, stability and economic development on the African continent and ensure Ghana’s active participation in deliberations of the African Union and reaping benefits from its flagship projects such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Developing and Sustaining International Goodwill, Solidarity and Support for National Development
To maintain a reasonably high profile diplomatic presence abroad, thereby, seeking to attract appreciable levels of foreign direct investments, political goodwill and international solidarity as well as a sustained positive image and influence of Ghana’s membership in various international organisations.
Championing Ghana’s Economic Diplomacy Agenda
To prioritise the development of economic opportunities in Ghana’s foreign policy by opening up markets for Ghanaian exports and attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the country. To give meaning to this policy direction, the Ministry re-established the Economic, Trade and Investment Bureau (ECTIB) in June 2017 to bring focus to the Ministry’s economic activities and its collaboration with other institutions.
Participation in the Deliberations of Multilateral Organisations
To help seek solutions to the challenges confronting international peace, stability and development and to articulate Ghana’s views and contributions to decision-making in major international conferences and deliberations of multilateral institutions.
Promoting the Organization of Permanent Joint Commissions for Cooperation (PJCCs) and Political Consultations (PCs) with other states
The Ministry is increasingly promoting the organization of PJCCs and PCs (which are established frameworks for strengthening bilateral relations with other states) to allow for deliberations on a wide range of sectors, including Trade and Investment, Agriculture and Agro-processing, Health, Education, Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM), Environment, and Peace and Security, for mutual benefit.
Promoting Diaspora Development
In recognition of the immense contribution of the Ghanaian Diaspora to the country’s national development, the Ministry embarked on policy initiatives (notably “the Year of Return, “Beyond the Return” and Citizenship by Investments”) to support diaspora investment, skills and knowledge transfer and other strategic partnership. The Diaspora Engagement Policy, a key national document, provides the necessary framework within which the Diaspora can constructively engage in political, social, economic and cultural discourse towards effective mobilization and coordination to the national development process.
Promoting Consular Development (Protecting the Welfare of Ghanaian Nationals Abroad)
The Ministry seeks to minimise the negative impact and optimise the potential benefits of migration on Ghana’s development by promoting and protecting the welfare of Ghanaian nationals abroad and offering consular assistance, through Ghana’s Diplomatic Missions, to cater for emergency situations and evacuation cases for stranded Ghanaians abroad.
Passport Administration
To comply with directives of ICAO and ECOWAS and improve the security and integrity of the Ghanaian passport, the Ministry made key policy interventions, notably the introduction of the Online Passport Application System, the Biometric System and the establishment of thirteen (13) new Passport Application Centres across the country. The Ministry also provided all its sixty-six (66) Missions and Consulates with the capacity to capture the biometric details of applicants and equipped fourteen (14) Missions to independently print biometric passports. The upgrade of biometric passport booklets to chip-embedded passports and the introduction of the E-Visa Management System are strategies being implemented by the Ministry to increase the passport security system.