A Diaspora Engagement Policy has been unveiled at the Office of the President to enable Ghana to build a mutually beneficial relationship with its diaspora populations around the world.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, presenting the concept, explained that the diaspora support was not only for remittances but also for the exchange of knowledge, skills and innovation for long-term investment for sustainable development.

This was made known in a statement issued by Dr Dirk Aßmann, the Country Director of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and copied the Ghana News Agency on Friday.

It affirmed: “The Diaspora is a bridge that connects us to a wealth of knowledge, skills and connections that can take Ghana to new heights of inclusive development.”

The statement said according to Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the estimated number of Ghanaians currently living abroad was between 1.5 million and 3 million, and they were found in more than 33 countries worldwide.

“Despite the impact of the pandemic on global economies, remittances alone to Ghana according to World Bank’s 2021 Migration and Development report shot up by five per cent to US$3.6 billion with Ghana ranking second behind Nigeria in the Sub-Saharan Africa region,” it stated.

The statement said consequently, the launch of the Diaspora Engagement Policy would facilitate the judicious use of human and material resources of the diaspora for the socio-economic transformation of Ghana.

The launch followed a series of stakeholder engagements and consultations efforts led by the Diaspora Affairs Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, supported through capacity development measures, policy advisory and peer-to-peer exchange by the programme “Shaping Development-oriented Migration” (MEG), implemented by GIZ Ghana.

Other partners include the International Organisation for Migration and the Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, the statement said.

It said the Diaspora Engagement Policy represented a momentous milestone in the nation’s developmental trajectory and would remain an initiative that signified the formal introduction and implementation of a comprehensive framework aimed at effectively utilizing the immense economic, socio-cultural and diplomatic power embedded within Ghana’s global diaspora.