The Foreign Service Institute’s Chinese Language Program was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in association with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana.
In order to improve communication with Chinese counterparts and promote diplomatic contacts, the program aimed to provide Ghanaian officials a foundational understanding of Mandarin. This would strengthen the two nations’ bilateral ties.
The three-month program involved about 80 participants who were selected from the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, the Public Service Commission, the Office of the Head of Civil Service, and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labor, Jobs and Employment, Lands and Natural Resources, and Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry.
The program is an investment in officials’ professional growth that takes into account the value of linguistic and cultural sensitivity in diplomatic relations.
In order to promote mutual respect and facilitate easier negotiations, improve people-to-people relations, and open the door for further cooperation and improved cultural exchanges between Ghana and China, officials from important institutions must become linguistically and culturally competent. China is one of Ghana’s most important trading, infrastructure, investment, and cultural exchange partners.
Building on this basis, the Foreign Service Institute and the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana, via the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, are eager to create new opportunities for cooperation and cross-cultural interaction.
Source: newsthemegh.com