The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor, has been appointed to serve on the Resolution Drafting Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
He will serve alongside the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa on the committee.
The appointment of Mr Ahiafor was announced in a press statement issued by Parliament’s Media Relations Department and copied to The Ghanaian Timesin Accra yesterday.
According to the statement, Mr Ahiafor and his South African counterpart received unanimous endorsement from members of the African Geopolitical Group of the IPU after being nominated by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin.
The nomination, the statement indicated, took place on the sidelines of the 152nd Assembly of the IPU in Istanbul, Turkey.
During the Assembly, Mr Bagbin, who also serves as President of the African Geopolitical Group of the IPU, held a series of bilateral meetings with delegations from Australia, Algeria, Belgium, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, the Kingdom of Morocco, Qatar, Turkey, and Ukraine.
The discussions that took place at the meeting focused on strengthening economic cooperation, enhancing parliamentary diplomacy, and deepening collaboration in key areas such as trade, investment, and regional development.
Additionally, the statement noted that the discussions also underscored the importance of African solidarity in addressing shared challenges, including security concerns, economic resilience, and sustainable development.
Moreover, the statement said that the engagements reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to fostering strong international partnerships and advancing collective efforts toward peace, stability, and prosperity across Africa and beyond.
The unanimous endorsement of Mr Ahiafor and his South African counterpart, the statement noted, was a reflection of the confidence members of the African Geopolitical Group of the IPU had in the leadership capabilities of the two nominees.
Mr Ahiafor is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akatsi South and previously served in the 6th, 7th, and 8th parliament on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He was elected as the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament in January last year following the 2024 general elections which was won by the NDC.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
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