Ceremonial departure for President Mukherjee ahead of three-nation tour

President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday was accorded with a Ceremonial departure for his six-day three-nation tour to Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Namibia.

He was seen of by Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On the first leg of his visit, he will reach the Ghanaian capital Accra later this evening, where he will hold talks with his counterpart John Mahama on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

This is the first ever visit to Ghana by the head of the state and comes as a part of the Government's efforts to deepen ties with the African countries.

A number of agreements are likely to be signed between both the countries including on visa waiver and line of credit.

Apart from bilateral level talks President Mukherjee will also have engagement with the business community in Accra as India plans to scale up its investment in the mineral and gas rich nation.

Indian Investments in Ghana is substantial and amounts to nearly 3 billion dollars in various sectors and trade between both the countries has gone up three times in the last three years.

The President's visit is expected to open up new opportunities of cooperation between the two countries.