Ghana relishes consolidating ties with Ethiopia – President

Addis Ababa, July 11, 2023 (FBC) – The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo affirmed that he is committed and ready to further scale up and consolidate his country’s relationship with Ethiopia.

Ambassador Teferi Fikre, who has been appointed as Ethiopia’s Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary to Ghana, presented his letter of credence yesterday to the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo Addo, in the Jubilee House, Accra.

While meeting the President, Ambassador Teferi mentioned that Ethiopia and Ghana shared the oldest and longest-standing diplomatic relations in Africa, assuring determination to further strengthen the historical relations of the two nations. He conveyed the cordial greetings of the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde, to President Nana Akufo-Addo and the People of the Republic of Ghana.

The Ethiopian Ambassador emphasized the importance of expanding trade and investment engagements in order to take advantage of the opportunities created by the The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. He also highlighted Ethiopia’s role in realizing peace and security at the Horn of Africa, and the approval of the Tariff Decisions on AfCFTA engagement protocol.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, on his part, affirmed that he is committed and ready to further develop and strengthen the relationship between Ethiopia and Ghana and to support the ambassador during his tenure in Ghana.

Furthermore, Ambassador Teferi and the President emphasized on the importance of boosting the bilateral relations and cooperation of the two countries on multilateral fora in all aspects of diplomatic engagements, expressing the commitments Ethiopia and Ghana have in that regard.

Noting the strong historical relationship the two countries have, they stressed the important role played by Emperor Haile-Selassie I and President Kwame Nkrumah in sparking Pan Africanism Movement and founding the OAU, the predecessor of AU.

Moreover, the Ambassador and the President highlighted the importance of expanding trade and investment engagements not only bilaterally but also among African countries and capitalize the opportunities the continental free trade agreement (AfCFTA) could provide.

Discussions were also made on the importance of focusing on experience sharing and knowledge transfer to support democratization, peace and security, and assist one another mainly on extractive and pharmaceutical industry areas.