Ablakwa to address Parliament on issues at Ghana’s embassy in Washington

Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has announced that he would brief Parliament on the closure and reopening of Ghana’s embassy in Washington, DC, this week.

He says he will explain in detail the remedial actions taken by the Ministry to address the challenges and issues that led to the earlier closure of the embassy.

It is recalled that the Minority Caucus in Ghana’s Parliament expressed strong reservations over what it describes as the “unilateral and drastic” decision by the Minister to temporarily shut down the Ghana Embassy in Washington, D.C., following an alleged misconduct by staff at the mission.

Addressing the media in Parliament on Tuesday, 27, 2025, Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, flanked by fellow Minority members, announced their intention to summon the Foreign Minister, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to appear before the House to justify his actions.

According to Jinapor, the Minister’s choice to announce the embassy’s closure via social media—without first consulting the relevant parliamentary committee or employing diplomatic channels—was hasty and potentially damaging to Ghana’s international reputation.

“Whatever happens at the Foreign Ministry, including decisions taken by the Minister, has far-reaching repercussions on the reputation, image, and welfare of Ghanaians across the globe,” Jinapor emphasized.

In a post on his X page, Mr Abalkwa said “From the briefing I have received, our reopened embassy in Washington DC issued over 800 visas yesterday on the first day of resumption. I expect this level of efficiency, professionalism and integrity to continue. Let me commend our fresh team of seasoned diplomats for the great job so far in implementing our systems overhaul and institutional fumigation. This is testament that Ghanaian diplomats excel when provided with the right ecosystem and leadership.”

He added “Contrary to false and baseless claims, there have been no new recruitments to replace lost jobs in our Washington embassy — we have an adequate stock of distinguished and astute diplomats to lead ongoing reforms — this patriotic consequential reset agenda aimed at restoring the image of our diplomatic missions abroad cannot be reduced to “jobs for the boys.”

“Meanwhile, it is worth announcing that a recently discovered 2023 unauthorized, opaque and illegal agreement between Fred Kwarteng and a top official at the Washington Embassy has been declared a nullity and will no longer be respected (more on this plus frozen accounts and other remedial actions will be presented in greater detail when I address Parliament next week).”

The post Ablakwa to address Parliament on issues at Ghana’s embassy in Washington first appeared on 3News.

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