Mr Abdulla Shahid, the Foreign Minister of Maldives, has pledged his country's support for Ghana's bid to be elected as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the period 2022 to 2023.

Mr Shahid, who has been elected as the President of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, made the pledge at a meeting with Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Madam Ayorkor Botchwey expressed appreciation to the Maldives Foreign Minister for agreeing to an in-person meeting at short notice and in spite of the COVID-19 restrictions and congratulated Mr Shahid for the emphatic win to the post of President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

She said the election was a testament of the broad support that the Government and People of the Maldives enjoyed from the international community.

She said as a candidate vying for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council, it was important to share Ghana's priorities and also exchange ideas on areas of possible collaboration to advance the work of the Council.

Madam Ayorkor Botchwey observed that Ghana and the Maldives shared similar aspirations, an expression of the unwavering commitment of the two countries to the multilateral system and institutions.

She said Ghana's priorities for its tenure on the Council were commitment to the critical agenda of conflict prevention, post-conflict reconstruction and multilateralism at the heart of UN peace and security agenda.

The rest are: promotion of human rights, sustainable development, peace and security in advancing the work of the Security Council, especially at a time when the UN was mobilising all Member States towards combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Others are: strengthening partnerships between the UN and continental and regional organisations such as the AU and ECOWAS in conflict prevention, peacekeeping operations and special political missions.

In addition, she mentioned addressing conflicts caused by environmental factors such as land degradation, desertification, drought and climate change.

She underscored Ghana's readiness and willingness to collaborate with him during his Presidency of the General Assembly.

Madam Ayorkor Botchwey, who requested for Maldives's support for Ghana's candidacy to the Security Council, also recalled the fact that Ghana supported the Maldives in the campaign for election to the Presidency of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.