Ghana and Egypt have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations, with a renewed focus on defence cooperation, pharmaceutical investment, infrastructure development and regional security.
The commitment was made during a bilateral meeting between President John Dramani Mahama and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the sidelines of the 8th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Summit held alongside the inaugural Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt.
The two leaders reflected on the longstanding ties between their countries, recalling the pan-African vision championed by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and Egypt’s former President, Gamal Abdel Nasser. They agreed that the historic partnership remains a strong foundation for advancing contemporary development and regional integration objectives.
President Mahama expressed appreciation to Egypt for supporting Ghana’s resolution on reparations at the United Nations and appealed for continued backing as international discussions on the matter progress.
A major focus of the talks was economic cooperation and trade expansion. Both leaders discussed measures to strengthen political consultations and enhance commercial exchanges between their countries.
In particular, attention was given to the pharmaceutical sector, with discussions centred on facilitating the registration of Egyptian pharmaceutical products in Ghana. The move is expected to improve access to medicines while encouraging investment and partnerships within the healthcare industry.
Defence and security cooperation also featured prominently in the discussions. President Mahama highlighted Ghana’s interest in expanding collaboration with Egypt, citing the North African country’s advanced defence industry as an important model for partnership.
He called for greater cooperation in intelligence sharing, capacity building and counter-terrorism initiatives to help address emerging security threats across the continent.
The leaders further discussed support for the Sahel-Gulf of Guinea Accord and explored opportunities for collaboration in social housing development.
On infrastructure, President Mahama said Ghana is keen to learn from Egypt’s experience in implementing large-scale development projects. He specifically pointed to Egypt’s New Administrative Capital project as a model from which Ghana could draw lessons as it advances plans for a new capital city.
The meeting underscored the growing strategic partnership between the two countries and their shared determination to deepen cooperation in areas critical to economic growth, security and sustainable development.