Ghana and Burkina Faso have signed seven bilateral agreements following high-level talks in Ouagadougou, aimed at strengthening cooperation in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in the Sahel.
The agreements were concluded at the end of a reactivated session of the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC), which had been dormant for six years.
Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, held separate meetings with Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, and the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré.
Discussions focused on security cooperation, cross-border collaboration and economic integration.
The two governments condemned recent terrorist attacks in the region that claimed eight lives and left several others injured. They expressed condolences to affected families and agreed to design and adopt a new security framework to combat violent extremism.
“We condemned the recent terror attacks, expressed our commiserations with affected families and decided to design and adopt a new security framework aimed at neutralising the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism,” Mr Ablakwa stated.
Beyond security, the two countries established a new partnership on disaster management, with particular attention to the perennial spillage of the Bagré Dam, which has repeatedly caused flooding in parts of northern Ghana.
Mr Ablakwa noted that the reactivation of the PJCC followed earlier engagements between President John Dramani Mahama and Burkina Faso’s leader, Ibrahim Traoré, in January and March last year.
“I am delighted that following the meetings last year between President John Mahama and President Captain Ibrahim Traoré, we have reactivated our Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation which had been dormant for six years,” he said.
At the conclusion of the session, both sides signed agreements on the mutual recognition of national driver’s licences, transport and road transit, and a framework for cross-border cooperation.
They also signed memoranda of understanding on periodic consultations between border administrative authorities and the creation of a joint commission to reaffirm the common border.
Additionally, the two countries signed a cooperation agreement on the prevention and management of disasters and humanitarian crises, as well as an agreement to combat illicit cultivation, production, manufacture and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
The new accords are expected to deepen bilateral relations, improve border governance and enhance joint responses to security and humanitarian challenges confronting both nations.
