Ghana-Togo to have 24-hour open borders - Mahama

Ghana and Togo would soon have 24-hour opened borders if negotiations between the technical teams of the two countries were concluded, President John Dramani has announced.

He said so far, the Togolese President has presented a proposal to the Government of Ghana, which the technical team was currently working on, for approval and implementation.

President Mahama announced this when he hosted Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe at the State House, as part of the latter's three-day state visit to Ghana.

Apart from this programme, President Gnassingbe would be visiting the West Hills Mall in Accra, visit and lay wreaths at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Mausoleum, before moving to Aflao on the third day, where he would be inaugurating a railway project, among other visits.

The programme was also attended by Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur and his spouse, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, and of the Diplomatic Corps.

President Mahama said Ghana and Togo were bonded historically and geographically, and therefore the colonial barriers were only considered as artificial structures and not limitations.

He said the 24-hour opened borders would not only facilitate the movement of goods and services between the two countries, but would also enhance free trade between them.

President Mahama commended President Gnassingbe for his feat in handling the Ebola issues in the sub-region that he was tasked with at the last Extraordinary ECOWAS Summit in Accra.

He said Togo has also been instrumental in restoring peace in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Mali and Sierra Leone, during their political crisis, adding that “Togo has also played a meaningful role in the current Burkina Faso political crisis.”

President Gnassingbe, on his part, said it was the first time a sitting President in Togo has had a state visit to Ghana, although they were the nearest in the sub-region.

He said his visit would pave the way for bilateral co-operation, and build a new harmony that would enhance mutual benefits.

President Gnassingbe said he was expecting the two countries in the coming days to use a common voice for the development of their countries, adding that "General Ankrah was the only Ghanaian Head of State who paid a state visit to Togo in 1968.”

He said although the relations between the two countries had had their ups and downs, he was ready to cement those relations to bridge the gaps that existed, for posterity.