The newly-sworn in President of the Republic of Madagascar, Andry Nirina Rajoelina, has commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana, for superintending impressive developments in Ghana over the last two years.

The President of Madagascar made this known on Saturday, 19th January, 2019, when he held bilateral talks with President Akufo-Addo in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, shortly after being sworn into office, at an impressive ceremony that was attended by Mr Alpha Condé, President of the Republic of Guinea; Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia; Edgar Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia; and Azali Assoumani, President of the Comoros.

Also present at the investiture were the Vice-President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, Daniel Kablan Duncan; Vice-President of the Seychelles, Vincent Meriton; former President of the Republic of Mozambique and former Chairperson of the African Union, Dr. Joaquim Chissano, and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

According to President Rajoelina, Ghana, under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, has consistently, since 2017, been one of the fastest-growing economies not only in Africa, but in the world.

This, he explained, can be attributed to the sound economic policies being pursued by the Akufo-Addo government. He hoped for closer ties of co-operation and friendship between Ghana and Madagascar.

Expressing his admiration for President Akufo-Addo’s vision of moving Ghana to a level beyond aid, he applauded his Ghanaian counterpart for his decision to situate an industrial establishment in all parts of the country, guarantee access to education for all Ghanaian children, and move towards making Ghana self-sufficient in the production of food.

All of these, President Rajoelina explained, were signs of a Ghana being put onto the path to progress and prosperity, and indicated his preparedness to deepen the relations between the two countries for the mutual benefit.

For his part, President Akufo-Addo congratulated President Rajoelina on his ascension, once again, to the high office of President of the Republic of Madagascar, and wished him well during his tenure of office.

He commended his Madagascan counterpart for his decision to restructure the economy of Madagascar for "strong growth", as well as establish independent bodies, akin to Ghana’s Office of Special Prosecutor, to combat corruption in the island nation.



President Akufo-Addo assured President Rajoelina of the Ghanaian people’s continued solidarity with the people of Madagascar, and pledged to do his best to deepen the ties of co-operation, friendship and trade between the two countries.

President Akufo-Addo returned home from Madagascar on Sunday, 20th January, 2019.