Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has fulfilled his pledge by approving free visas for all registered participants of the upcoming Diaspora Summit 2025, scheduled for December 19–20 at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The Ministry announced the initiative following an earlier commitment made by Ablakwa during the official press launch of the summit, where he assured that participants in the diaspora traveling home for the event would not require visas. The move, he said, is designed to ease travel and strengthen Ghana’s ties with its global community of descent.
Ablakwa described the summit as a major bridge-building platform aimed at deepening Ghana–diaspora relations, attracting Ghana’s extended family from around the world, and offering them a warm return to their roots. The visa waiver, he emphasized, is a crucial step toward achieving these goals.
The Diaspora Summit 2025 is expected to draw high-level diplomats, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, cultural leaders, and professionals from across the globe. Key focus areas include investment opportunities in Ghana, cultural exchange initiatives, and strategies to reinforce long-term diaspora engagement.
The Ministry has advised participants to visit the nearest Ghana Embassy, High Commission, or Consulate in their country of residence to obtain their free visas ahead of travel. The deadline for online summit registration is December 8, 2025.
Officials noted that the initiative aligns with Ghana’s commitment to Pan-Africanism and its vision of fostering enduring partnerships with Africans and people of African descent worldwide. It reflects ongoing efforts to strengthen shared identity, culture, and collective developmental goals.
The Ministry also reminded citizens of countries with existing visa waiver agreements with Ghana, spanning Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, and Europe: to take note of their eligibility. These include all passport holders from Barbados, Bahamas, Dominica, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore, São Tomé and Príncipe, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Rwanda, Morocco, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Malawi, and Grenada.
Additional countries with visa waivers covering diplomatic, official, or service passports include Brazil, Colombia, China, Cuba, Germany, Sudan, Türkiye, Namibia, Hungary, Iran, India, Equatorial Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Venezuela, Malta, and the United Arab Emirates.
The diaspora remains central to Ghana’s foreign policy, contributing significantly to investment, tourism, knowledge transfer, and cultural cooperation. In 2023, Ghana launched the Diaspora Engagement Policy to deepen long-term collaboration, focusing on reintegration, business access, investment opportunities, and cultural exchange. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an estimated 1.5 million Ghanaians currently live abroad across 33 countries.
Source: diplomatictimesonline.com