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The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Mr Hailemariam Desalegn, arrived in Accra yesterday for a three-day state visit to Ghana.

He was met on arrival by the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, at the Jubilee Lounge of the Kotoka International Airport.

Some ministers of state, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Hannah Tetteh; the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osah-Mills, and the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, and some members of the Diplomatic Corps were at the airport to receive the Ethiopian Premier.
 

Accompanied by his wife, Roman Tesfaye, the Prime Minister, on his arrival, inspected a guard of honour mounted by a detachment of the Ghana Air Force, after which the national anthems of Ghana and Ethiopia were played.

Thereafter, the two leaders retired to hold discussions behind closed doors.

Itinerary

While in the country, Mr Desalegn will hold talks with President John Mahama and pay a visit to the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, where he will sign a cooperation agreement between the centre and the Ethiopian government.

The visiting premier will also tour the Cocoa Processing Company in Tema and later visit Akosombo in the Eastern Region.

Mr Desalegn, as part of his visit, will lay a wreath at the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum and hold a joint news conference with President Mahama.

Ethiopia and Ghana have enjoyed long-standing relations, having established diplomatic relations through the opening of their respective embassies in 1959 after Ghana had attained independence in 1957.

Bilateral relations between the two countries were strengthened by an exchange of visits by President Kwame Nkrumah and Emperor Haile Selassie in 1959 and 1960 respectively, and the countries have since then developed and maintained close relations of cooperation in all areas of common interest.

Ghana and Ethiopia were strong advocates for the political independence of all African states, for which reason they both worked hard for the establishment of a strong and viable continental organisation which saw the establishment of the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. 

The first meeting of the OAU (now the African Union) was held in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

The two countries have shown a strong desire to move forward and deepen their cooperation in mutually advantageous fields in a bid to further deepen their relationship.