The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, left Ghana on Thursday, 23rd July 2020, at the request of the Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States, His Excellency Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger, to help mediate in the ongoing political crisis in Mali, as part of a delegation of ECOWAS leaders who have been assembled by President Issoufou Mahamadou to this end.

President Akufo-Addo will be joined in Mali by His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; His Excellency Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire; and His Excellency Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal. They are expected to hold stakeholder consultations with the President of the Republic of Mali, His Excellency Boubacar Keita, the Imam of Mali and Co-ordinator of the Opposition, Mahmoud Dicko, and Civil Society groups, with a view to resolving the impasse.

The President was accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, MP; and officials of the Presidency and Foreign Ministry.

The President will return to Ghana later on Thursday, and in his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.