In a major push for economic diplomacy, Ambassador Victor Emmanuel Smith has challenged the Ghanaian diaspora to pivot from being primarily a source of remittances to becoming the drivers of investments and entrepreneurship, establish businesses in critical sectors such as energy, healthcare, tourism, agriculture and agribusiness, to help improve lives back home.
Speaking at a recent meeting with the Washington Government Relations Group (WGRG), a network of independent non-partisan volunteers with membership representing corporations, financial institutions, law firms, trade associations and nonprofit organisations — Ambassador Smith laid out a clear standard for his mission: performance-driven modern international relations.
He declared that “the true measure of successful diplomacy is not the number of high-level meetings we attend, but the investment we attract, the businesses we help establish and the lives we improve.”
Rather than relying on economic aid or treating Ghana solely as a consumer market for foreign goods, the country is seeking robust, strategic partnerships built on mutually beneficial outcomes.
“Ghana wants strategic partnerships for mutual economic benefit, not relationships defined merely by the purchase of American products,” the Ambassador said.
He urged the group to visit Ghana, explore opportunities to invest, build local industries to create jobs and provide sustainable livelihoods, especially now that Ghana has transitioned beyond exporting raw materials towards refining, processing and high-level production, a shift which has opened lucrative avenues for diaspora-led enterprises.
Generating these internal opportunities will ensure that migration from Ghana becomes a choice rather than an escape borne out of economic desperation.
The leader of the group, Dontal L. Smalls, Senior Vice President of Global Public Affairs, expressed enthusiasm at the Ambassador’s presentation and revealed that the team was already planning a trip to Ghana next year to coincide with the country’s 70th Independence Anniversary which will feature both economic engagements and cultural exchanges.
He expressed the group’s readiness to engage with the Embassy and partner with the Ambassador’s vision and Ghana’s success story.
The meeting marks a continuation of the Embassy’s targeted economic diplomacy efforts, focused on converting the goodwill and financial capacity of its diaspora into tangible long-term economic prosperity.
