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Natasha Halfhuid was appointed ambassador of the Republic of Suriname to Ghana. The swearing took place on Wednesday 24 July at the presidential palace in Paramaribo. During the swearing-in ceremony president Desire Bouterse said that the Suriname embassy in Accra is an “important step towards the further deepening of our diaspora and South-South relations” between the two brotherly countries.
The Suriname foreign ministry said that ambassador Halfhuid previously served as a “minister of plenipotentiary and has worked very hard for Suriname.”
In his speech, president Bouterse urged his Ghanaian ambassador, “To diversify the Surinamese economy; engage in cultural and scientific relations, and to identify investment opportunities.”
He also urged Halfhuid, “To promote production and creation of export markets, social development, infrastructure, exploitation and protection of the environment, innovation and strengthening of our human capital.”
“The establishment of a diplomatic mission in Accra, this year, coincides with the year proclaimed by the Ghanaian president as ” the year of return ” for the Ghanaian diaspora throughout the world.”
On August 7 ambassador Halfhuid will travel to Accra to take up her assignment.
Suriname closed its South Africa embassy and opted to open one in Accra where a large Surinamese diaspora hails from. The two countries have old civilizational ties, art, music, language, and other cultural affinities as a result of the brutal trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Natasha Halfuid is the daughter of former diplomat Rene H. Halfhuid and Everdine Halfhuid. She was educated in Suriname, the United States, and Brazil. Ambassador Halfhuid was posted at the Suriname Mission to the UN, Suriname Embassy in Washington DC and at the Organisation of American States (OAS). Halfhuid previous diplomatic assignment was in Brazil. She speaks Dutch, English, Portuguese and Spanish.