Ghanaian Ambassador Bids Farewell, Highlights Strengthened Angola-Ghana Relations

Luanda: President Joo Lourenço on Monday received Ghana's outgoing ambassador to Angola, Mavis Esi Kusorgbor, who gave a positive assessment of relations between the two countries. The meeting provided an opportunity for the diplomat to bid farewell to the Head of State at the end of her four-year diplomatic mission in Angola. According to Angola Press News Agency, Mavis Esi Kusorgbor said the objectives guiding her mission had been achieved through initiatives aimed at bringing the two countries closer together and strengthening contacts between their respective peoples. Among the initiatives undertaken, she highlighted a business forum that brought around 30 Ghanaian businesspeople to Angola to showcase Ghanaian products and business opportunities, increasing Angolans' awareness of the country's economic potential. The diplomat also referred to the ratification of the Visa Exemption Agreement for holders of diplomatic and service passports, allowing Angolan and Ghanaian citizens holding such documents to travel between the two countries without requiring a visa, in accordance with the provisions of the legal instrument. According to Mavis Esi Kusorgbor, there are expectations that, in the near future, the same arrangement could be extended to holders of ordinary passports, a measure that could help increase visits, exchanges, and business opportunities between citizens of the two countries. The ambassador called for greater exchanges and travel between Angola and Ghana, noting the geographical proximity of the two countries, which are separated by an air journey of approximately three hours. During the meeting, she added, President Joo Lourenço also highlighted the closeness between Angola and Ghana and the need to continue efforts to strengthen bilateral relations. Reviewing her mission, the diplomat said she had helped increase awareness of Angola among the Ghanaian people and bring citizens of both countries closer together. On the occasion, she thanked the Angolan people for the way she had been receive d during her four years in the country, an experience which, she said, had been marked by friendship and cooperation. "At no point did I feel away from home while I was in Angola. In fact, I felt at home," she said. Angola and Ghana have maintained diplomatic relations for 50 years, having established ties in 1975 on the basis of the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement signed on 20 October of that year. Bilateral cooperation covers the political-diplomatic, economic, agricultural, educational, and people mobility sectors, with particular emphasis on energy, mining, and agriculture, as well as the exchange of experience in cocoa cultivation. The two countries have a Bilateral Cooperation Commission, established under the General Agreement on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation signed in 2010. In February 2024, Angola and Ghana signed nine legal instruments aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. In the area of people mobility, a reciprocal visa exemption agreement for holders of dip lomatic and service passports remains in force for stays of up to 90 days, while both countries assess the possibility of extending the arrangement to ordinary passport holders. As part of high-level contacts, President Joo Lourenço paid visits to Ghana in 2021 and 2024, contributing to the deepening of political and cooperation ties between the two countries.