Ghanaian president lauds Egypt's role in Africa, urges developing bilateral ties

CAIRO - 26 June 2019: President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo expressed appreciation to the historic and special relations between Egypt and Ghana, praising Egypt's pivotal role regarding African issues, Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said.

President Nana Akufo-Addo met on Tuesday with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in Cairo. The Ghanaian president has visited Egypt to attend the Ghana-Benin game, according to Ghanaian reports.

During his meeting with President Sisi, Akufo-Addo congratulated Egypt for the special organization of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, which is set to last until July.

Akufo-Addo affirmed his keenness to develop relations with Egypt, especially the trade and economic ties, in accordance with the depth of the political relations between the two countries. He also lauded the activity of Egyptian companies in Ghana in the fields of construction, energy, and mining, Radi said.

The Ghanaian president expressed appreciation for Egypt's role in providing technical support to the Ghanaian people in the capacity building field, noting that his country looks forward to benefiting from the Egyptian expertise in the security and counter-terrorism fields.

For his part, President Sisi praised the relations between Egypt and Ghana at the political, economic, security and cultural levels. He highlighted the importance of continuing to enhance trade exchange and investments between the two countries.

Sisi affirmed Egypt's keenness to preserve political consultancy between the foreign ministries of the two countries, and to continue coordination on ways to establish security and stability in the African content.

The two presidents discussed the situations in Sudan and Libya, said the Egyptian presidential spokesman, where Sisi underscored Egypt's keenness, during its presidency of the African Union, to achieve strategic interests of the continent in the fields of security and stability, achieve economic integration, and activate the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.



The African Free Trade Agreement came into force on May 30, 2019, after member states met the ratification required for implementation, and completed the technical issues for practical application, which is expected to begin by January 2020.

AfCFTA agreement aims to ease the trade exchange between the countries that signed it according to a scheduled timeline and not through an immediate activation of the agreement. It is considered to be the biggest deal ever signed since the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established as it was signed by 43 countries.