Rwandan President Paul Kagame arrived in Accra on Tuesday, January 7, to attend the inauguration of Ghana’s President-elect John Dramani Mahama and Vice President-elect Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang. The ceremony marks Mahama’s return to the presidency after he won the December 7 election by a wide margin.
Mahama, 66, is set to replace Nana Akufo-Addo, who served two terms as president. Mahama first became president in 2012 after the death of President John Evans Atta-Mills, completing the remainder of Mills’ term and later winning a full term in office.
The inauguration has drawn several African heads of state and dignitaries, with Kagame joining the high-level delegation.
Rwanda and Ghana have a long history of cooperation. In 1994, Ghana’s peacekeeping contingent under the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) remained in Rwanda during the genocide, defying UN orders to evacuate and helping to protect civilians. Since then, the two nations have deepened ties in a variety of areas.
In 2020, Rwanda opened a resident High Commission in Accra, and in 2021, it became accredited as a non-resident mission in several West African nations, including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
The two countries have signed numerous agreements, including a General Cooperation Agreement, a Bilateral Air Service Agreement, and a Joint Permanent Commission. They have also formalized cooperation through Memoranda of Understanding covering defense and security, private sector collaboration, tourism, arts and culture, the financial sector, and trade.