Ghana and Burkina Faso have signed seven new bilateral agreements following high-level talks in Ouagadougou, as both countries move to strengthen cooperation in the wake of recent terror 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 Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, held meetings with Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, and his counterpart, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, focusing on security, cross-border cooperation and economic integration.
The two governments condemned recent terrorist attacks in the region which claimed eight lives and left several others injured, expressed condolences to affected families and agreed to design and adopt a new security framework aimed at tackling 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,” Ablakwa said.
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 and destruction in parts of northern Ghana.
Ablakwa said the reactivation of the PJCC followed earlier engagements between President John 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 added.
At the conclusion of the PJCC session, the two sides signed an agreement on the Mutual Recognition of National Driver’s Licenses. An agreement on Transport and Road Transit. A framework agreement on cross-border cooperation. A memorandum of understanding on the establishment of periodic consultation frameworks between Border administrative authorities. Both countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on the creation of a joint commission to reaffirm the common border. Another on the cooperation agreement on the prevention and management of disasters and humanitarian crises.
An agreement on combating illicit cultivation, production, manufacture and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances was also signed.
The new accords are expected to deepen bilateral ties, improve border governance and strengthen joint responses to security and humanitarian challenges affecting both nations.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Fred Duhoe
