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President John Dramani Mahama has held bilateral talks with his Ivorian counterpart President Alassane Ouattara during which the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral and economic relations between their respective countries for the mutual benefit of their citizens. President Mahama, who led a Government delegation on Wednesday 5th September, 2012, on a two-nation tour of Cote d�Ivoire and Burkina Faso, also expressed his gratitude to the Heads of State of the two countries for personally attending the funeral and burial ceremony of the late President, J. E. Atta Mills. The first point of call was Abidjan, the Ivorian capital where Mr. Mahama was met on arrival by the Ivorian President Mr. Ouattara at the airport where a guard of honour was mounted in his honour. At their bilateral meeting, the two Presidents expressed their concern about the conflict situation in Mali, as well as the current political climate in Guinea-Bissau, noting that the current situation threatened the peace and stability of the sub-region. Consequently they pledged to collaborate with other heads of governments towards finding a long-lasting solution to the impasse in the two countries. President Mahama reiterated Ghana's commitment to peace and security within the sub region, and assured his counterpart of his commitment not to allow Ghana to be used as a staging post by any group to destabilize the Republic of Cote D'Ivoire. On his part, President Ouattara recounted the longstanding cordial and friendly relations that has existed between Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire over the years and expressed his willingness to work to deepen the cultural integration between the two countries. He also expressed his appreciation to the Government of Ghana for the key role it has continued to play in assisting the people of Cote D'Ivoire towards achieving peace and reconciliation following the political stalemate that characterized the Ivorian national elections.