President John Dramani Mahama has met Tanzanian President Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan in Arusha, where the two leaders pledged to deepen Ghana Tanzania ties and voiced concern over rising tensions in the Middle East and their potential impact on African economies.
The high level talks were held at the State House in Arusha and focused on strengthening bilateral relations, advancing continental cooperation and responding to pressing regional and global developments.
President Mahama said Ghana was closely monitoring escalating hostilities involving the United States, Israel and Iran, as well as counter attacks affecting Gulf states. He warned that instability in the Middle East, a region central to global energy supplies, could have serious economic consequences, particularly for African countries that are vulnerable to crude oil price fluctuations.
Both leaders reflected on the historic partnership between Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, and Tanzania’s founding leader, Julius Nyerere, describing it as a foundation for renewed cooperation. They agreed to revitalise structured bilateral engagement, including fast tracking the establishment of a Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation. Plans are also underway for a State Visit to formalise a number of bilateral agreements and Memoranda of Understanding.
On economic transformation and resource governance, President Mahama highlighted Ghana’s recent reforms in the gold sector. He said small scale gold exports had increased from 63 metric tonnes to 104 metric tonnes within nine months, generating about 10 billion dollars for the national economy.
He stressed the need for greater resource sovereignty and value addition, announcing that Ghana would move away from external cocoa financing arrangements and mobilise domestic resources to purchase at least 400,000 metric tonnes of cocoa annually for local processing.
President Mahama is in Arusha as Special Guest of Honour for the 20th Anniversary and the opening of the 2026 Legal Year of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He described the Court as a distinguished continental institution and urged African countries that have not yet ratified its Protocol to do so in order to strengthen justice and human rights across the continent.
On Tanzania’s post election processes, President Mahama commended President Hassan for establishing an independent Commission of Inquiry and for plans to set up a Reconciliation Commission. He said the measures demonstrated democratic maturity, promoted national cohesion and reinforced multiparty governance.
In his role as African Union Champion on Reparations, President Mahama also confirmed that a resolution recognising the transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity would be tabled before the United Nations General Assembly on 25 March.
He expressed appreciation for Tanzania’s support for the reparations agenda, describing it as a principled and necessary step toward historical justice.
