Pakistan and Ghana held their first formal bilateral talks and signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), the Foreign Office (FO) said on Tuesday.

A press release by the FO, initially released on Monday, said that the two countries convened their first Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) on Monday, “marking an important milestone in the development of bilateral relations between the two countries”.

“The Pakistani delegation was led by Ambassador Hamid Asghar Khan, additional foreign secretary, while the Ghanaian side was headed by Ambassador Khadija Iddrisu, chief director (of the) ministry of foreign affairs,” it said.

During the talks, it added, two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed: an MoU on BPCs and an MoU between Islamabad’s Foreign Service Academy and the Ghana Foreign Service Institute.

“Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations and agreed to enhance cooperation across a broad range of areas, including political, economic, defence, tourism, cultural, health, education, information technology, and other mutually beneficial sectors,” the statement said.

According to the FO, the two sides also agreed to hold the next round of the BPC in Islamabad next year.

“Pakistan and Ghana have friendly, cooperative ties, spanning many decades. The institutional dialogue process will further strengthen their bilateral relations through more meaningful and project-specific cooperation,” it said.

While relations between the two countries are still budding, Pakistan has been endeavouring to establish closer diplomatic ties with African nations.

On Saturday, Pakistan and Somalia signed an agreement abolishing visa requirements for diplomatic passport holders of both countries.

Last year, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution declaring May 25 as Pakistan-Africa Frien­d­­ship Day, a motion moved by Deputy Prime Minister and Fore­ign Minister Ishaq Dar.