Ghana ambassador to US Hajia Alima Mahama set for Worcester visit; will meet with WSU and city leaders, Ghanaian community
WORCESTER — Hajia Alima Mahama, Ghana’s first female ambassador to the United States, is planning a three-day visit of the city, starting Thursday, culminating with a town meeting for the Ghanaian community here.
Ken Asafo-Adjei, a community leader with the Ghana Association of Worcester, said the city has about 38,000 Ghanaian residents who keep close ties with their native country in West Africa with a population of roughly 32,000,000.
Her Excellency will be meeting with Worcester State University President Barry M. Maloney and its trustees at 5 p.m. Thursday at the university.
“Worcester State hosted (Ghana) President Nana Akufo-Addo and their former Ambassador thereafter,” Maureen Stokes, assistant vice president for communications and marketing at WSU, said. “In 2019, we realized mutual collaboration points around education and commerce, and hope to continue those conversations when we meet with the Ambassador next week.”
Stokes said WSU hopes to explore educational opportunities with Mahama designed to bring qualified Ghanaian students from high schools to the university for firsthand college-level experiences; establish faculty-centered research collaborations with a tertiary institution(s) in Ghana; start an exchange programs with a Ghanaian university at the undergraduate level; and provide educational opportunities to prospective students from Ghana.
Meetings with Murray, McGovern
Mahama is planning to meet with Timothy P. Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, at 11:30 a.m. Friday, to discuss promoting trade to Ghana.
She will also meet U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern in the city at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Also Saturday, Mahama will attend a town meeting with the Worcester Ghanaian community, 2 to 5 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 233 Mill St.
Mayor Joseph M. Petty and many of the city councilors are expected to attend.
A former member of the Republic of Ghana Parliament and minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mahama was appointed ambassador to the U.S. just over a year ago.
Mahama, 64, is a Ghana Law School graduate and holds a master of arts in development studies with a specialization in regional development planning from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague in The Netherlands.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Ghana ambassador to US Hajia Alima Mahama set for Worcester visit, will meet city leaders, residents
