Ghana, Eswatini sign MoU to deepen cooperation
Ghana and the Eswatini have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a Joint Commission for Cooperation.
The move aims to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two nations.
The Joint Commission for Cooperation will serve as a formal platform for dialogue and coordination to enhance trade, investment, cultural exchange, education, tourism and infrastructural development between the two nations.
The agreement was signed at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday as part of a four-day state visit of the Ingwenyama (King) of the Kingdom of Eswatini, King Mswati III.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and the Eswatini Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Pholile Shakantu, signed on behalf of their respective countries.
President John Mahama and his guest, King Mswati, witnessed the signing ceremony.
Both leaders underscored the importance of the agreement in advancing shared development goals and fostering African solidarity.
Before the signing ceremony, the two leaders and their officials held bilateral talks, much of it behind closed doors.
State visit
King Mswati III, Leader of the southern African state of Eswatini, arrived in the country yesterday morning, his first time in Ghana.
The Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, received the monarch of the landlocked Southern Africa country at the Kotoka International Airport, on behalf of President Mahama.
The Chief of Staff was accompanied by the Deputy Chief of Staff in-charge of Operations, Stan Xoese Dogbe; the Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Minister of Works and Housing, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei; the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, and some members of the African diplomatic delegation.
King Mswati III was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising government officials, traditional leaders and business representatives.
The King and his men donned the traditional Emahiya, a cloth draped around the body, tied at the shoulder and decorated with beads, necklaces and jeweled ankle wrappers.
While displaying their distinctive traditional dress, the delegation was toasted to a military guard of honour, traditional drumming and dancing, showcasing the colourful Ghanaian culture in equal measure to set the tone for the visit which would see the Eswatini King and his delegation spend much of the time in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi, to be hosted by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
He is due to depart the country on Saturday, June 28, 2025. The state visit is to strengthen diplomatic and economic relations between Ghana and Eswatini, as well as deepen historical and cultural connections, particularly between the Asante Kingdom and Eswatini.
After the reception at the airport, King Mswati III was escorted to the Jubilee House, where President Mahama and Vice-President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang welcomed him to a military salute in the foyer of the Jubilee House.
Itinerary
Passionate about intra-African trade, King Mswati and his delegation also met with officials of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat in Accra before departing to Kumasi later in the day.
In Kumasi, he will be hosted by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for a schedule that includes a tour of the historic Manhyia Palace Museum and a visit to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.
King Mswati will also address the National House of Chiefs and attend a grand durbar of chiefs organised in his honour atthe Manhyia Palace. A Royal Banquet will be held in Kumasi on Friday evening.
On Saturday, the final day of the visit, King Mswati III will join the Asantehene at a ceremony at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) before departing from Ghana.
