Ambassador Quartey has made history for Ghana-Kwesi Dawood

The Central Regional Communications officer of the NDC, Mr Kwesi Dawood contributing to a radio discussion, has paid glowing tributes and poured congratulations on behalf of the NDC to Ambassador Thomas Kwesi Quartey for emerging victorious as the new Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission describing him as an excellent diplomat by all standards, a fine gentleman and that his victory is going down in history as the first and only Ghanaian to occupy an office in the administration branch of the continental body.

He was also full of praise for President John Dramani Mahama and his competent team of Ambassadors, High Commissioners and the immediate past Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Hanna Tetteh for working very hard for this victory, ‘Yes, our immediate past President and his competent team started working for this victory over a year ago and I am very grateful to them for the hard work put in to ensure this victory’, he stated. ”The renowned diplomats’ decision to contest the Deputy Chairperson position of the AU Commission did not come to us as a surprise at all because we knew his passion, competency and rich experience will be enough to win the seat and it has come to pass too as envisaged. I believe that his recent role as Secretary to President John Dramani Mahama and having served as a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, his contributions towards the development of West Africa and the continent as a whole will enable him deliver on his mandate to help the AU, AU Commission and all relevant stakeholders to work towards the Africa that we all want.”

Mr Dawood added ‘ there is no doubt that the experiences of Ambassador Quartey in the course of his diplomatic career, which span a period of thirty-five years makes will enable him to deliver to make us even more proud as Ghanaians. He served in various capacities in Ghana’s Embassies and High Commissions in Cotonou, Cairo, Brussels, Havana, London, the Ghana Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and also his role as Ghana’s Ambassador to Ethiopia as well as the Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Africa [ECA] with concurrent accreditation to Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Eritrea, Djibouti and Rwanda and we are very hopeful, the experiences gathered in all those places all these years will be brought to bear positively at the AU Commission so far as tact, advocacy and diplomacy are concerned”.

Ambassador Thomas Kwesi Quartey was elected on Monday January 31st, 2017 at the 28th Summit of Heads of State and Governments at the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as the new Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission. His Victory has been met with joy all over the Continent with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo describing it as “great news for Ghana”.