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Commonwealth Secretary-Select Shirley Botchwey will pay a visit to India from March 20-21, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), stated in an official statement.
As per the MEA, during the visit, Botchwey will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the two will hold discussions upon various matters related to the Commonwealth. Notably, her visit will also see interactions will relevant stakeholders. According to MEA, Shirley Botchwey is the former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ghana. She will assume office as the 7th Secretary General of the Commonwealth on April 1, 2025. As per her official website, Shirley Botchwey has achieved many diplomatic and administrative successes during her tenure as the Foreign Minister of Ghana. She established a Foreign Service Institute (FSI) to improve the training, human resource capacity, and service conditions of Ghanaian diplomats. Under her leadership, extensive digitalization has been introduced to streamline and improve consular and passport services both at home and in overseas missions. Botchwey led and steered the unanimous passage of UN Resolution 2719 in December 2023, during Ghana's two-year non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council. This unprecedented resolution now enables the UN to fund African Union-led Peace Support Operations. Notably, Botchwey also served as the chair of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for two consecutive terms from 2020 to 2022. During her tenure, she played a crucial role in negotiating the transition towards democracy in the region, a situation that remains fluid and continues to engage her attention and expertise, her website observed. During her leadership, the Council provided advice to the Authority of Heads of State and the Government of ECOWAS on various issues. As per her website, Botchwey is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana. She holds a law degree from the Ghana School of Law, as well as a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of London. She also holds an Executive MBA from the University of Ghana Business School, Legon and an MA in Public Communications & Public Relations, University of Westminster, London. (ANI)
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