Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey Inaugurates The First Ghana Premium Application Center In London, UK | General News

Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, on Tuesday, 8 November 2022, formally inaugurated the Premium Application Center (PAC) in London. This is a premium service to enhance the present consular companies offered by the mission.

Prior to the institution of PAC, the ministry, led by Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, in control of passports and visas, and the Ghana High Commission UK carried out sensitization excursions and public engagements with the Ghanaian neighborhood within the UK, the place he disclosed the plans for rolling out the improved consular companies to ease the strain and challenges that many candidates confronted.

During the interactions within the UK on the tenth and eleventh of August 2022, Hon. Ampratwum-Sarpong famous that the Ghanaian government had acknowledged the necessity for enchancment in its companies on the missions overseas, and as such, the ministry had made the choice to increase and ship front-end premium companies via a public-private partnership association with Access Citizens Services Ghana, an middleman specialist service supplier for processing visas and passports purposes.

The Premium Application Center, London is the primary of its type within the diaspora for Ghana's missions and is the fruits of efforts inside the West African nation to ship premium passport and visa utility companies to residents following a profitable 4 years pilot in Ghana.

As a part of the long-term goals of the Ghanaian government to enhance consular companies each at dwelling and overseas, the opening of this brand-new Premium Application Center (PAC) is to provide residents of Ghana and guests to Ghana, within the United Kingdom , handy entry to an environment friendly and complete course of for quicker passport and visa utility and acquisition multi functional place.

Speaking on the grand opening, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey acknowledged the significance of the middle and reiterated the resolve of the ministry to additional enhance its service supply.

Hon. Ayorkor Botchwey stated, “...this milestone event marks another achievement in the determination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to provide quality service delivery at home and its missions abroad. The opening of this PAC, the first to have been established, is a testimony to the progress we have made in recent years. Every applicant can expect expedited frontline consular services for passport, visa, and travel certificate applications”.

The Minister emphasised that the ultimate dedication of purposes might be executed by the consular part of the Ghana High Commission – so that is for frontline companies solely. “I, therefore, call on Ghanaians and the public to take advantage of this PAC. As the Ministry opens such facilities in several Ghanaian missions in the coming years, we will draw lessons from the successes and shortcomings of the London PAC – I hope more successes than shortcomings”, she stated.

Also current on the occasion was Ghana's High Commissioner to UK and Ireland, HE. Papa Owusu-Ankomah. In his handle, he referred to as on all Ghanaians within the UK to make use of the companies of PAC. The High Commissioner famous that the institution of PAC comes as a reduction to the mission because it gives an alternate for anybody wanting to use for visas and passports. The High Commissioner additional added, “I hope that we'll cooperate so that this becomes a success and demonstrates the way Ghana is improving its consular services globally”.

In a gap handle, Mr Nidal Kamouni, CEO, of Access Group stated “We are a Ghanaian company with international reach serving reputable governments and are delighted to be working with the government of Ghana to handle and manage what we call the front-end element of service delivery, which is basically ensuring that all citizens and visitors to Ghana have the best experience when it comes to applying for their passports visas, offloading some of the volumes and load off the High Commission. This collaboration will enable us to help all applicants in a timely manner, providing faster processing service which allows the diplomatic missions to focus on the decision-making part of issuance”.