Ukraine opened the Ukrainian Embassy in Ghana, an African country, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said on 27 December on social media.
Opening the embassy in Africa is part of Ukraine’s strategy for countering Russian influence worldwide. The support of these countries is also important for implementing Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s initiative to hold a global peace summit to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian war.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, until an ambassador is appointed, the Ukrainian Embassy in Ghana will function as a temporary charge d’affaires. After Ukraine declared independence on 24 August 1991, Ghana recognized Ukraine on 22 April 1992. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 17 June 1992.
Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs will continue opening the Ukrainian Embassy in other African countries like Rwanda, Mozambique, Mauritania, Botswana, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, and Sudan, Kuleba said. In total, Ukraine plans to open ten new embassies in Africa.
“Expanding Ukraine’s diplomatic presence will also open up new opportunities for the Ukrainian state, business, and citizens,” Kuleba said.
Since the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine has started to pursue a broader course in international politics, engaging with its existing partners and seeking ties with countries of the Global South. It is these countries that Russia has managed to convince that Ukraine is merely “a puppet of imperialist powers.” Meanwhile, before February 2022, Ukraine was invisible and often unknown in the countries of the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
However, reaching out to the Global South has been one of the challenges for Ukrainian diplomacy since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. According to an Institute for the Study of War report, Russia continues to position itself as a prominent security provider for authoritarian African regimes. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said that Russia would soon sign additional military cooperation agreements with six more African countries, adding to the 30 out of 54 African states with which it already has defense arrangements.
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