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I – 2DP was represented at the 2012 Africa Development Forum in October, 2012 by its Executive Director, Ambassador Nana Bema Kumi and the Head of the Development Policies Section, Mr Alexander Archine. The Forum focussed on good governance of Africa’s natural resources.

Prior to the opening of the Forum, the Executive Director was interviewed on phone by a BBC correspondent. Below are the salient points raised by Ambassador Kumi during the discussion.

She emphasised that failure by African Governments to utilise the wealth gained from our natural resources to develop their respective countries could be attributed to the following factors:

1. Inadequate leadership in terms of inappropriately informed African officials at the level of initial as well as subsequent negotiations for the exploration and exploitation of such natural resources. Such officials end up accepting deals which are not in the best interest of African countries.

In August 2012, I-2DP had the honour of being invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia to join hands with three other Foreign Service Training institutes from Indonesia, India, Turkey, and UNITAR to prepare curricula for the Foreign Service Training Institute of Ethiopia and the School of Diplomacy and International Relations in Addis Ababa. After five weeks of preparation in Accra which constituted the first phase, the Executive Director moved to Addis where she had intensive collaboration with the projects' Curriculum Committee for fourteen days .

This happy development is in line with I-2DP's cardinal objective of contributing towards capacity building in Africa in the field of diplomatic training. I-2DP continues to engage other African countries and beyond in similar collaborative endeavours.

A training programme was organized by the Institute of Diplomatic Practice and Development Policies { I – 2DP } from Sunday, 22nd to Saturday, 28th July, 2012,  as part of Ghana’s preparations for the forthcoming UN  General Assembly, to update government officials, international functionaries and civil society representatives on international issues to be discussed at various levels of the meetings to be held with effect from September, 2012 in New York, USA.

Thought-provoking presentations were  made, including those on Multilateralism and the extent to which developing countries have benefitted from modern multilateral diplomacy; the UN Rising to the Challenge of Maintaining World Peace and Security with focus on the conflict in Syria; how the UN system works during the General Assembly sessions and the various means used and efforts deployed by civil society organisations to impact the work and outcome of the Assembly’s sessions through its various Committees; Ghana’s

contributions to the UN agenda on Sustainable Development with a critical look at Ghana’s own Development Agenda; as well as a new approach in Africa’s relations with world powers such as the European Union and China. The EU Ambassador in Ghana and the Director of Political Affairs at the Embassy of CHINA in Accra both addressed the course. The Programme ended on the high note of a presentation by the Deputy Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peace- keeping  Training Centre {KAIPTC], Brigadier-General B. F. KUSI on the Security Threats in West Africa, with focus on the Situation in Mali.

The programme objective was achieved to a high degree, partly because it was tailor-made in close collaboration with the Multilateral Bureau of the Foreign Ministry in Accra and partly because of the specialized background and commitment of the resource persons.

The immediate past President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has been appointed as the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Institute of Diplomatic Practice and Development Policies (I-2DP).

Mr. James Victor Gbeho, who is also the former Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations and one-time Minister of Foreign Affairs, was nominated chair at the inaugural meeting of the six-member Board in Accra.

The veteran diplomat will be expected to bring his vast knowledge to the activities of I-2DP towards the realisation of its goals and objectives.

Other members of the Board are Dr (Mrs) Mary Chinery-Hesse, former Deputy Director-General of the International Labour Organisation and current Interim Chairperson of the AU Panel of the Wise; Dr Lawrence Victor Essien, Professor of Law, Fordham University, New York and Board Member of the National Council of Ghanaian Associations in New York; Francis A. Tsegah, former Ghana’s Ambassador to Spain and current Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Accra; Mrs Ama Kumi Thomas: Senior Attorney in Los Angeles, US, who doubles as Secretary to the Board; and Nana Bema Kumi, Executive Director of I-2DP, also a former Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg.

Accra, May 10, GNA – Ghana would take a strong position on three priority areas, namely Natural Capital Conservation, Natural Resource Efficiency and means of implementing Sustainable Development at the Rio+20 Conference slated for June 2012.

Ghana would convince the conference to back her demands for proactive measures to be adopted to conserve biodiversity and to reduce its losses, as well as how to harness clean and modern technology to enhance Sustainable Development.

Mr Rudolf Kuuzegh, Director of Finance and Administration, Ministry of Environment Science and Technology(MEST), disclosed this at the opening ceremony of an orientation programme organised in Accra on Thursday for Ghana’s delegates to the Rio+20 Conference to be held in Brazil.

He said Ghana’s delegation which includes a technical team, made of 18 technocrats, drawn from the various Ministries, Department and Agencies, would also lead the bloc of developing countries known as the Group of 77 to discuss issues on desertification, forestry and energy.

According to Mr Kuuzegh, the meeting would discuss Ghana’s success stories, new and emerging challenges such as climate change and the effects of the recent global economic meltdown that had militated against effective implementation of Agenda 21.

Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be pursued globally, nationally and locally by organisations of the United Nations system, governments, and major groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment.

Agenda 21 was adopted by more than 178 governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, from June 3 to 14, 1992.

The full implementation of Agenda 21 and the programme for further implementation of the Agenda 21 were strongly reaffirmed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 26 to September 4, 2002.

The Rio+20 Conference, which is also the United Nations Conference of Heads of States on Sustainable Development, is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development.