President John Dramani Mahama and the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh, have held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the African Union Extraordinary Health Summit in Accra.

The meeting, which took place at the Presidency, sought to deepen bilateral ties between the two sister African countries, towards advancing shared African and global interests.

President Mahama noted that the relations between the two countries were historic from the era of Ghana’s First President Dr Kwame Nkrumah and Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie.

He said Addis Ababa was the capital of Africa and that they all convened there from time to time and anytime they arrived in the city, they were received with such warm hospitality.

The President said there were a lot the two nations could learn from each other, particularly Ethiopia’s afforestation programme.

He noted that Ethiopia had planted billions of trees and that alone had changed the whole temperature of the country, stating that Ghana would be sending a technical team to study it.

He expressed gratitude to Ethiopia for the support during the UN General Assembly Resolution that was passed on slavery; declaring that Ethiopia was one of the 123 countries that stood firmly behind Ghana when they moved that resolution.

He further commended the leadership of the Tana Forum Board in advancing dialogue on peace, security, and Africa’s future.

Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh acknowledged that Ethiopia attached great importance to its historic and strong relations with the people and the Government of Ghana.

He said; “We are happy with the strong partnership,” and cited the successful commissioning of the new Chancellor building of the Embassy of Ghana in Addis Ababa among other developments.