Riyadh, June 28, 2015 – The President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama yesterday bestowed the high honour of the Companion of the Order of the Volta (VC) to His Royal Highness (HRH) Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The award was presented on behalf of the President by the Hon Minister for Youth and Sports Maj (rtd) Alhaji Dr. Mustapha Ahmed, who was leading a government delegation on an official visit to the Kingdom. Other dignitaries present at the short ceremony held in the Saudi capital Riyadh, were H.E. Alhaji Said Sinare, Ghana’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Hon Commodore Steven Obimpeh, a Presidential Staffer at the Office of the President, Mr. Nick Barnor of the Office of the President, and Mr. Samuel Nsiah, a Minister/Consul at the Ghana Embassy in Riyadh.

In reading the citation of the award, the Hon Obimpeh mentioned some of the significant contributions made to the development of Ghana by HRH Prince Al-Waleed. He said “one significant service to the underprivileged for example, is the construction of an Islamic Basic School from nursery to Junior Secondary School (JSS) known as the Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Islamic School near the NADMO headquarters at Kanda-Accra, for the people of Ayawaso Constituency.” Hon Obimpeh further stated that the Princes’ “business group owns the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, a world class five star hotel in Accra which is currently offering more than 400 direct and indirect jobs to Ghanaians. And as a result of his continuous philanthropic and humanitarian services to the underprivileged in the country, he was honoured by the naming of the Nima Highway after him, now called the HRH Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud Highway.

According to the citation, the award was conferred on him by the Republic of Ghana “in recognition of his extraordinary achievements in the academic and business fields as well as his exemplary philanthropic activities, his commitment to the cause of humankind as a whole and his interest in Ghana’s socio-economic development in particular.”

In accepting the honour, HRH Prince Al-Waleed thank the President and the good people of Ghana for the recognition, and reiterated his commitment and desire to invest more in the socio-economic development of Ghana. He added that he plans to visit Ghana very soon to sign some business deals with the government in furtherance of his commitments to the development of the country.


----- Signed ------
Mahmoud Jajah
Secretary/Public Affairs
Ghana Embassy, Riyadh
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