Prez. Akufo-Addo travels by road to Togo

• Posted on May 4, 2017
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday arrived in the Togolese capital, Lome, to a rousing reception by residents at the commencement of his three-day visit.

President Akufo-Addo, who made the trip to Togo by road, was met at the Aflao border by the Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, together with hundreds of Ghanaians and Togolese who had lined up the principal streets of Aflao to Lome.

 President Akufo-Addo with President Faure Gnassingbe

Amidst the waving of miniature flags of the two countries, Presidents Akufo-Addo and Gnassingbé acknowledged the cheers from the ecstatic residents, as the two leaders made their way to the presidential palace for their first meeting.

They were met at the palace by Togolese politician, Gilchrist Olympio, son of Sylvanus Olympio, Togo’s first President.

President Akufo-Addo at the presidential palace with President Gnassingbe

President Akufo-Addo, President Gnassingbe and Gilchrist Olympio at the presidential palace

Gilchrist Olympio was a long-time opponent of the regime of Gnassingbé Eyadema, and was President of the Union of Forces for Change (UFC) –  Togo’s main opposition party from the 1990s till 2013 – when he responded to the calls by President Faure Gnassingbé, son of the late President Eyadema, for national reconciliation, which saw him take a senior position in the Togolese State.

President Akufo-Addo’s visit to Togo is part of the first phase of his tour of countries in the ECOWAS region.

The visit will afford him the opportunity to formally introduce himself as the new Ghanaian leader to the governments and peoples of Ghana’s neighbouring countries, explore and deepen bilateral relations with them, and reiterate Ghana’s full commitment to the ECOWAS project.

Day two of President Akufo-Addo’s tour yesterday saw him visiting the Noepe border post, accompanied by President Faure Gnassingbé, before they held bilateral talks at the presidential palace.

Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway; Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen; National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah; Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery; Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul; Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Kofi Adda, are among President Akufo-Addo’s delegation.

President Akufo-Addo being welcomed by Trade and Industry Minister

President Akufo-Addo welcomed by Foreign Affairs Minister at Aflao

The president will also be taken on a tour of the harbour at Lome before interacting with the Ghanaian community in Togo.

A state dinner hosted by the Togolese president was held in honour of the Ghanaian head of state.

Nana Akufo-Addo departs this morning for Ouagadougou to begin his two-day working tour of Burkina Faso.