Ghana and Pakistan yesterday signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), to formally resume high-level political engagement between the two countries, after a prolonged diplomatic hiatus.

The agreements are intended to expand political, diplomatic and institutional cooperation and to establish a framework for regular consultations and collaboration across multiple sectors. 

The Chief Director of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms Khadija Iddrisu, signed on behalf of Ghana whilst the Additional Foreign Secretary, Hamid Asghar Khan initialed for Pakistan.

The signing ceremony was followed by the inaugural session of political consultations between the two sides.

Speaking at the event, Mr Khan, said the development was a significant milestone which followed the re-establishment of Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Ghana after nearly two decades. 

He said Islamabad had allocated a plot of land in its diplomatic enclave for Ghana to construct a new mission and chancery in the near future. 

Mr Khan noted that the move demonstrated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and added that the newly signed MoUs would help lay the foundation for a deeper, and more enduring partnership between the two countries.

Highlighting the historical depth of relations, the Additional Foreign Secretary recalled that Pakistan opened its first resident mission in Africa in Accra in 1965, shortly after Ghana’s independence. 

He noted that Pakistan’s First High Commissioner to Ghana, Dilshad Makar, went on to become one of the country’s most distinguished diplomats, and that a hall at Ghana’s foreign ministry bears his name.

Khan said the reopening of Pakistan’s mission in Accra in 2022 reflected Islamabad’s renewed engagement with Africa, guided by principles of mutual respect, peaceful cooperation and shared prosperity. 

He also referred to Pakistan’s “Engage Africa” policy, launched in 2019, which has resulted in the opening of several new embassies and trade missions across the continent.

He further highlighted Pakistan’s long-standing support for African liberation movements in the 1950s and its continued contribution to international peacekeeping.

More than 230,000 Pakistani troops, he said, had served in 46 United Nations peacekeeping missions worldwide, the majority of them in Africa.

Ms Iddrisu on her part said the signing of the MoUs and the launch of political consultations had created momentum for meaningful and sustained diplomatic engagement between both countries.

She welcomed growing cooperation between the Foreign Service Institute of Ghana and Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy, adding that both sides were expected to agree on a programme of joint activities in the coming months.

Ms Iddrisu said Ghana was keen to broaden cooperation beyond traditional areas to include defence, digital innovation, education, agriculture, public health, environmental protection, peace and security, and people-to-people exchanges. 

She noted that global fragmentation, rising protectionism and strategic competition among major powers had made international cooperation increasingly important, particularly for developing countries.

Reaffirming the country’s commitment to working closely with Pakistan, she said the agreements and consultations were expected to transform long-standing relations, dating back to 1958, into tangible benefits for both nations and their peoples.