Ghana has officially launched the 2025 Diaspora Summit and Awards Gala with a pledge to deepen engagement with the global African diaspora as equal partners in national development and the wider African renaissance.
The December summit, themed “Resetting Ghana: The Diaspora as the 17th Region,” will feature plenaries on investment, innovation, and culture, alongside a special reparations conference. It will climax with the Diaspora Awards Gala, honouring outstanding contributions of Ghanaians and people of African descent worldwide.
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At the media launch in Accra on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the event would move beyond homecomings to serve as a platform for advancing justice, reparations, and unity. He announced visa-free entry for all participants, symbolising Ghana’s commitment to welcoming its “17th Region.”
“This is not about monetary gain. It is about restoring dignity, justice, and closure,” Mr. Ablakwa said, as he confirmed that five distinguished Africans — Wode Maya, Lady Dentaa Amoateng, Rocky Dawuni, Anita Erskine, and Ibrahim Mahama — will be honoured as summit envoys and granted diplomatic passports.
Representing President John Dramani Mahama, Deputy Chief of Staff Nana Oye Bampoe Addo assured the diaspora that their contributions and investments would be secured, stressing, “The diaspora is not apart from Ghana; it is part of Ghana.” She linked the summit to the forthcoming “Decade of Reparations” (2026–2036), calling for unity of resources and purpose.
Mr. Kofi Okyere Darko (KOD), Director of Diaspora Affairs at the Presidency, described the summit as a reset in Ghana’s diaspora policy — repositioning the diaspora from remittance senders to full partners in transformation. He noted that remittances reached US$6.4 billion (₵104.9 billion) in 2024 and are projected to surpass US$6.8 billion (₵111.4 billion) in 2025, accounting for six percent of Ghana’s GDP.
“Ghana’s greatest wealth is not beneath the ground but within its people, both at home and abroad,” Mr. Darko said, highlighting initiatives such as a diaspora hotline, residence permit support for returnees, and endorsements for diaspora-led organisations.
The summit is expected to attract government leaders, entrepreneurs, cultural icons, and civil society from across the global African community to Accra in December.
