Presidents Sirleaf, Mahama Meet

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf paid a one-day Working Visit to Accra, Ghana with her Ghanaian counterpart, His Excellency, President John Mahama. Both Presidents discussed regional, international and matters of bilateral interest to the two countries and peoples.

A dispatch from Accra said, the two leaders discussed several areas of cooperation between the two countries and peoples covering security, trade and energy. Welcoming the Liberian leader, President Mahama recalled the longstanding relationship between the two nations and extended congratulations to President Sirleaf for her ascendancy to the Chairmanship of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, also expressing confidence in the leadership of President Sirleaf and pledging his support in ensuring that the President’s tenure as Chairperson of ECOWAS becomes a success.

The Executive Mansion dispatch quoted President Mahama as noting Ghana’s interest in working with Liberia in developing its power production and distribution capacity. In response, President Sirleaf expressed Liberia’s gratitude to Ghana for its support to the peace process in Liberia through the deployment of peacekeepers, holding peace negotiations, as well as hosting thousands of Liberian refugees who fled the country in the midst of a civil strife. 

She said Ghana and Liberia have long standing historical relations in working on regional and continental issues.  The two leaders, however, expressed their commitment to ensuring the successful implementation of the priorities set by President Sirleaf during the course of her Chairmanship of the ECOWAS Authority, including peace and security, post-Ebola reconstruction, accelerating the free movement of people and goods with the aim of making regional integration and the work of the ECOWAS Commission more effective by implementing the necessary reforms, the dispatch from Accra indicated.

Both leaders agreed to set up a mechanism to counter-terrorism now a threat to the sub-region; look at the comparative advantages of the two countries to enhance cooperation especially in the areas of trade and technical capacity building.