The Libyan Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Khamis Barak, has advised African journalists to give more attention of their reportage on Libyan crisis rather than leaving it in the hands of foreign media.
This according to him would help reduce the negative reports filed by some foreign press and aid in finding solutions to the crisis.
He said this yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on the Editor of the Ghanaian Times, Mr David Agbenu to familiarise himself with activities of the newspaper.
They discussed the importance of press freedom and expressed their willingness to foster better collaboration and cooperation, ” press freedom could lead to role in finding and maintaining peace and security.”
The Ambassador said the courtesy call was in line with the Embassy’s commitment to have an established relationship with the media in Ghana as part of its Libya-Ghana relations activities.
Having followed the publications of the New Times Corporation (NTC’s) flagship newspaper, the Ghanaian Times, he said the visit was also an opportunity to meet and get to know the people, especially behind the news.
“I have been reading the Ghanaian Timessince my arrival and noticed it covers everything on economy, education and other foreign news and I must commend you for that,” he said.
Mr Barak commended Ghanaians for promoting peaceful co-existence, adding that since Ghana gained independence, it has maintained the peace and security.
For MrAgbenu, the relationship between the Embassy and the Corporation had been a warm one given that the Ghanaian Times had published news on the country’s agriculture, sports and other sectors.
He recalled that as a reporter, he visited Libya to provide coverage on the first biggest man-made water project in Africa, adding that, “the Libya I saw then is not the Libya we have today due to the crisis. I pray Libya gains its full recovery from the crisis.”
“It is with pain to see whatLibya has become, I pray for peace, security and development returns and wished African Union would give the necessary support to Libya”
Mr Agbenu said the embassy’s pursuit of relationship with the NTC was a step in the right direction and expressed the hope that both sides would put their best foot forward.
He called on the Embassy not to hesitate to call on the newspaper saying
“Our doors are always open, we are ready for you. Whatever information you want us to put out, it is our mandate to inform the public in a professional manner,” he stated.
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