Ghana and Slovakia are to begin immediate negotiations on a bilateral visa-waiver agreement for holders of diplomatic and service passports, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has announced.
The proposed arrangement would apply to diplomats, government officials and security personnel travelling on official duty. It would not give ordinary Ghanaian passport holders automatic visa-free access to Slovakia or to the European Union’s Schengen zone.
Mr Ablakwa made the announcement in a Facebook post on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, following a meeting in Accra the previous day with Martin Podstavek, Slovakia’s non-resident Ambassador-designate to Ghana.
During Monday’s meeting, Mr Ablakwa received Mr Podstavek’s Open Letters. The Slovak envoy’s request for a visa-waiver agreement was welcomed by the minister, who said Ghana had been pursuing such arrangements “very aggressively”.
“So, we should do that. We are ready to sign with you,” Mr Ablakwa told Mr Podstavek.
The minister pointed to existing diplomatic and service passport agreements with Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as ongoing talks with the Czech Republic. He said some of Ghana’s comparable agreements with Slovakia’s Central and Eastern European neighbours had been in place for more than 30 to 40 years.
The proposed agreement would be similar to recent visa waivers Ghana has negotiated for diplomatic and service passport holders.
Business and defence cooperation
Slovakia is expected to host a bilateral business forum within two weeks, where Ghanaian and Slovak representatives will discuss opportunities in banking, pharmaceuticals and the automotive industry.
The two countries are also considering cooperation on the supply of buses and the establishment of a vehicle assembly plant in Ghana.
Mr Ablakwa additionally proposed a defence cooperation agreement covering the maintenance of military hardware. He linked the proposal to President John Dramani Mahama’s planned electronic warfare centre in Tamale.
The discussions form part of Ghana’s wider diplomatic efforts, including its proposed visa waiver with Lebanon.
On Monday, Mr Ablakwa also received Open Letters from three other non-resident ambassadors-designate: Anna Westerholm of Sweden, Sanna Selin of Finland and Thirapath Mongkolnavin of Thailand.
Talks with Sweden included possible investment in railways and artificial intelligence. Ghana and Finland discussed technical and vocational education and training, known as TVET, along with fintech incubation.
Rice production was among the issues raised with Thailand, while the two sides also discussed support for Ghana’s BRICS partnership. Those engagements took place alongside Ghana’s broader push to expand visa-free travel arrangements.
