Ghana and Slovakia to Open Visa Waiver Talks, Explore Vehicle Assembly Plant

Ghana and Slovakia will begin negotiations on a visa waiver agreement straight away, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has announced. The two countries are also looking at a possible vehicle assembly plant in Ghana.

Mr Ablakwa made the announcement after receiving the open letters of Slovakia's Ambassador-Designate to Ghana, Martin Podstavek, one of four newly appointed non-resident ambassadors. Graphic Online reported that the meeting took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, November 9, 2026. As first reported by Citi News, the minister shared details of the agreements in a Facebook post on Tuesday, November 10.

Business Forum and Vehicle Plant

According to the minister, Slovakia will host a Ghana-Slovakia business forum within two weeks. The forum will concentrate on the automotive, banking and pharmaceutical sectors.

"We are also exploring a partnership to deliver buses and a vehicle assembly plant in Ghana," Mr Ablakwa said in the post.

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Visa Waiver Push

Graphic Online reported that Mr Ablakwa welcomed a request from Mr Podstavek for the visa waiver deal. "This is a great time for us to advance our relations," the minister said.

He told the envoy that Ghana had been pursuing visa waivers "very aggressively" and already has such agreements with most of Slovakia's neighbours, including Serbia, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria, for holders of diplomatic and service passports. He noted that some of those arrangements are decades old. "We are ready to sign with you," he said, adding that concluding the deal would demonstrate commitment and seriousness from both sides.

According to Graphic Online, the existing agreements with Slovakia's neighbours allow officials, diplomats, military and security personnel and official delegations to travel without visas. The outlet said a similar deal with Slovakia would not automatically let ordinary Ghanaian passport holders travel to Slovakia or the Schengen area without a visa.

Defence Cooperation

The minister also said Ghana would welcome a defence cooperation agreement with Slovakia. He disclosed that the President plans to set up Ghana's first electronic warfare centre, to be based in Tamale in the Northern Region.

Mr Ablakwa said Ghana recognised Slovakia's capacity to manufacture, service and maintain military hardware and wanted to work with the country in that field. He also described Slovakia's foreign policy as closely resembling Ghana's non-aligned approach.

Talks With Sweden, Finland and Thailand

Citi News reported that the minister also received the open letters of Sweden's Anna Westerholm, Finland's Sanna Selin and Thailand's Thirapath Mongkolnavin.

With Sweden, Ghana is seeking wider cooperation in railway construction, artificial intelligence investment, agribusiness, digitalisation of revenue administration and defence under President John Dramani Mahama's New Economy initiative.

Ghana and Finland agreed to strengthen ties in education, technical and vocational education and training, fintech incubation, maritime security and counterterrorism.

Thailand, an official BRICS partner nation, is expected to share its experience as Ghana pursues its own application for BRICS partnership. The two countries also plan to work together on rice production to cut Ghana's reliance on imports, as well as on labour mobility and fisheries, including boosting local canned fish production.