Ghana has been selected to participate in the maiden High-Level Conference for Peace in Ukraine, an event being organised at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It is meant to establish a common framework and concrete steps towards a future peace process for a lasting solution to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Switzerland is leading the Conference, slated for June 15 and 16, this year, to establish mutual understanding between as many States as possible on a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
“Discussions will focus in particular on the various peace plans already proposed,” a statement issued by the Swiss Foreign Minister and former President, Ignazio Cassis, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), noted.
According to the Swiss Foreign Minister, the time had come to put the culture of dialogue to work for world peace.
“Even when voices are silenced and weapons take their place, we believe that dialogue has its place…”
The United Nations, as of July 31, 2023, reported that some 26,015 civilians had been gravely affected in Ukraine since the war commenced two years ago, with 9,369 people killed and 16,646 others injured.
The Swiss Foreign Minister underscored the need for stakeholders to pool their strengths, ideas and visions of the world, however different they may be.
“The war in Ukraine has had worldwide ramifications. It has spread far beyond the continent of Europe, lighting a fuse before a powder keg capable of turning the whole world upside down.
“Africa, for example, has suffered its immediate consequences with a steep increase in staple food and fertilizer prices.
“Whether the war results in food shortage, an attack on territorial sovereignty, a nuclear threat, an impediment to freedom of navigation or a violation of international humanitarian law, its consequences and risks are felt wherever we live on the planet,” the statement said.
The Swiss Foreign Minister indicated that Ghana had an opportunity to shape this Conference from its specific perspective and contribute significantly by making its voice heard.
Generally, the event will focus on subjects of global interest, such as food safety, freedom of navigation, nuclear safety and humanitarian aspects, including prisoner exchanges.
“This initiative to end the war in Ukraine can only be followed by concrete and effective action if there is discussion at the highest political level on how Russia can be involved in such a process,” the Swiss Foreign Minister noted.
