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Four envoys on Tuesday presented their letters of accreditation to President John Dramani Mahama, with a commitment to strengthen trade, political and cultural relations between their respective countries and Ghana. The envoys used the occasion to congratulate President Mahama on his election victory and assured him of the support and cooperation of their governments. They were Ms Joanna Marie, the Australian High Commissioner; Mr Ali Hassan Halabi, the Lebanese Ambassador; Mr Svante Kilander, the Swedish Ambassador, and Mr Nyahuma Obika, the High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago. Receiving the Australian High Commissioner, President Mahama said relations between Ghana and Australia had been historic and special. He said the two countries shared common values of democracy, freedom and justice and were members of the Commonwealth of Nations. The President said trade between Ghana and Australia was rather slow and stressed the need for Australia to increase trade and business relations with Ghana. He mentioned renewable energy, oil and gas as some of the areas that Australian investors could explore in the country. He said Australia was playing a key role in Ghana's mining sector by providing technical services. President Mahama lauded Australia for releasing $10 million to the African-led International Mission in Mali (AFISMA) to fight armed groups and terrorists in Mali. Responding, Ms Marie thanked Ghana for supporting Australia to gain the non-permanent status at the UN. She promised to improve trade relations and bring in investments in the areas of education, health, agriculture oil and gas. Welcoming the Lebanese Ambassador, President Mahama said his arrival, which signaled the replacement of the charge d'affaire, was timely because the Lebanese President Michel Sleiman was expected to visit Ghana this weekend. He described relations between Ghana and Lebanon as historic, dating back to pre-colonial times. The President said as a result of the friendship, several Lebanese had become citizens of Ghana, either by birth or naturalisation. He said Ghana contributed troops to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) during the Lebanese war and expressed happiness that the war had ended and Lebanon had been able to build infrastructure and grow the economy, stressing, "I am happy at the revival of Lebanon." For his part, the Lebanese Ambassador gave an assurance that Lebanon would strengthen ties with Ghana. Receiving the Ambassador of Sweden, the President said Sweden was one of Ghana's major development partners and indicated that Ghana appreciated that support. He said the desire of Ghana and Sweden to promote democracy, freedom, justice and free expression "makes it easier to build on our relations". President Mahama said Sweden had invested in the telecommunications sector and indicated that it had used Ghana as a base for the distribution of Ericsson mobile phones in West Africa. He expressed the hope that trade between the two countries would increase. The Swedish Ambassador said Sweden would continue to invest in Ghana because it had confidence in the country. Receiving the High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago, the President said relations between Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago had been historic, dating back to the pre-colonial period. He mentioned George Padmore as one of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago who had good relations with Ghana's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. President Mahama said Trinidad and Tobago was supporting Ghana in the areas of oil and gas and wanted that support intensified. He said trade between the two countries was low and called for an increase in private sector support for Ghana, especially in the downstream oil and gas sector. The High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago promised to promote trade and political relations between Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago