Ghana and Slovakia to Begin Visa Waiver Talks as Ablakwa Receives Four New Ambassadors

• Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has recently received the open letters of four new non-resident ambassadors to Ghana from Sweden, Slovakia, Finland and Thailand
• Ablakwa announced that Ghana and Slovakia had agreed to immediately commence negotiations for a visa waiver agreement following his meeting with the new Slovakian envoy
• The engagements also produced plans for cooperation in several sectors, including railway construction, education, maritime security, rice production and support for Ghana’s BRICS

Ghana and Slovakia have agreed to begin negotiations for a visa waiver agreement, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has announced.

Ablakwa made the announcement in a social media post on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. It followed his meeting with four new non-resident ambassadors-designate to Ghana on Monday, November 9, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The envoys were Anna Westerholm of Sweden, Martin Podstavek of Slovakia, Sanna Selin of Finland and Thirapath Mongkolnavin of Thailand.

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During the engagements, the minister received their open letters and discussed areas of cooperation with each country. The visa waiver talks add to Ghana’s push to expand visa-free access for its passport holders.

Ablakwa on Ghana-Slovakia visa waiver talks

In his post, Ablakwa said Ghana and Slovakia had agreed to “immediately commence negotiations for a Visa Waiver Agreement.”

He did not state when the agreement could take effect. According to Rainbow Radio, Slovakia’s proposal covers holders of diplomatic and service passports.

Speaking to Ambassador-designate Podstavek, the minister said Ghana had been working very aggressively on visa waivers and was ready to sign.

He noted that Ghana already had such agreements with several countries in the region, including Serbia, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria, Graphic Online reported.

The Facebook post from Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in which he announces the visa waiver talks, is below.

Ghana, Slovakia explore vehicle assembly plant

Ablakwa also disclosed that Slovakia would host a Ghana-Slovakia business forum within the next two weeks.

The forum will focus on the automotive, banking and health products sectors. In addition, the two countries are exploring a partnership to deliver buses and a vehicle assembly plant in Ghana.

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Graphic Online further reported that the minister proposed a defence cooperation pact with Slovakia.

Ablakwa’s talks with Sweden and Finland

On Sweden, Ablakwa said both countries cherished their longstanding relations dating back to the 17th century.

He added that Sweden would work with Ghana to advance cooperation under President Mahama’s New Economy initiative.

The areas of focus include railway construction, AI investments, agribusiness, digitalising revenue administration and defence cooperation.

For Finland, the two countries agreed to expand existing cooperation in education, TVET and fintech incubation. Maritime security and counterterrorism collaboration were also among the areas discussed.

Thailand to back Ghana’s BRICS bid

Ghana and Thailand will work together on Ghana’s application for BRICS partnership, as Thailand is already an official BRICS partner nation.

The two countries also agreed to hold political consultations and exchange expertise on rice production.

According to Ablakwa, the rice cooperation is aimed at curbing Ghana’s unsustainable rice imports while creating local capacity and jobs.

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Both nations will also share knowledge on labour mobility partnerships. Further, they agreed to deepen fisheries cooperation to boost the production of canned fish in Ghana under a special partnership.

Ghana approves visa waivers with three countries

In April 2026, YEN.com.gh reported that Cabinet had approved visa waiver agreements with Antigua and Barbuda, the Maldives and Zambia.

Ablakwa announced the approval on social media on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. The agreements were expected to allow citizens to travel between the countries without visas for short stays once ratified by Parliament.

Source: YEN.com.gh