Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé travelled to Accra on Sunday evening to meet President Akufo-Addo.
He was met on arrival at the Jubilee Lounge (VVIP section) of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) by President Akufo-Addo and immediately held a closed door meeting at the Australia House.
Prior to the meeting, President Akufo-Addo said, “The Togolese president came over this evening to have an informal chat about our mutual matters.”
He said as nations that share a common border, it was important to meet sometime to share ideas for their mutual benefit.
The Togolese president, on his part, expressed appreciation to President Akufo-Addo for his continuous support to the government and people of Togo.
The talks were believed to have centred on negotiations between the government of Togo and the opposition parties.
In June, this year, President Akufo-Addo and his colleague Guinean President Alpha Condé, who have been tasked by the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) sub-regional body to facilitate peace talks in Togo, asked the government and the coalition of opposition parties in that country to table their major pre-occupations about the political crisis in their country by specifying their main concerns in order to guide ongoing mediation efforts.
Addressing a plenary session of both parties at the Presidential Auditorium of the Hotel 2 Février in the Togolese capital, Lome, the president said three months since the last meeting of the parties, the situations seems to have worsened.
To that end, the ECOWAS mediation team has decided to chart the path that has been proposed.
The two heads of state decided to first meet with the delegation from the Togolese government to know their concerns.
They subsequently met the Togolese opposition delegation to know their challenges.
Both parties met for a final session to adopt a common communiqué on the main issues that would be set out for mediation.
After the joint meeting, President Akufo Addo and President Alpha Condé addressed a press conference to announce plans to resolve the crisis.
According to reports, yesterday’s meeting would enable the Togolese president to update President Akufo-Addo on happenings in that country since the last meeting and the way forward.
Faure Gnassingbé returned to Togo the same evening after the meeting.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
