Ghana and Burkina Faso have agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation following high-level engagements between their leaders and foreign ministers, culminating in the signing of seven new agreements and the reactivation of a key joint commission that had been inactive for six years.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, disclosed the outcome of his two-day official visit in a Facebook post, describing his engagements with the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, and his counterpart, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, as frank and constructive.
“I have held very substantive, impactful and deeply honest conversations with the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, His Excellency Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo. The talks with my counterpart, His Excellency Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré was equally positive, meaningful and forward-looking,” he wrote.
According to the Minister, both governments reaffirmed what he described as their exceptionally cordial relations and resolved to strengthen cooperation in critical areas, particularly security and disaster management.
“The governments of Ghana and Burkina Faso have agreed to further deepen our exceptionally cordial relations. We condemned the recent terror attacks, expressed our commiserations with affected families and decided to design and adopt a new security framework aimed at neutralizing the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism,” he stated.
The agreement on a new security framework comes against the backdrop of rising terrorist activity in parts of the sub-region, with both countries pledging closer coordination to prevent the spillover of violent extremism.
Beyond security, the two nations have also established a fresh partnership on disaster management, with a specific focus on addressing the recurring spillage of the Bagré Dam in Burkina Faso, which has historically caused flooding in northern Ghana.
“We have also established a new partnership on disaster management which will particularly enhance our capacity to deal with the perennial Bagré Dam spillage and its hitherto devastating consequences,” Mr Ablakwa noted.
A key outcome of the visit was the reactivation of the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation, a bilateral platform that had been dormant for six years. The move follows earlier meetings between President John Mahama and Burkina Faso’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, in January and March last year.
“I am delighted that following the meetings last year between His Excellency President John Mahama and His Excellency President Captain Ibrahim Traore in January and March, we have reactivated our Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) which had been dormant for 6 years,” he said.
At the conclusion of what he described as an extremely successful session of the commission, the two countries signed seven agreements covering a broad range of areas aimed at improving cross-border governance and institutional collaboration.
“At the conclusion of our extremely successful PJCC, we signed the following 7 agreements: 1) Agreement on the Mutual Recognition of National Driver’s Licenses; 2) Agreement on Transport and Road Transit; 3) Framework Agreement on Cross border cooperation; 4) Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of periodic consultation frameworks between the border administrative Authorities; 5) Memorandum of Understanding regarding the creation of a joint commission to reaffirm the border between two countries; 6) Cooperation agreement on the prevention and management of disasters and humanitarian crises; 7) Agreement in the Field of fighting illicit cultivation, production, manufacture and trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and related matters.”
The agreements are expected to ease movement across borders, strengthen border administration, enhance disaster response mechanisms and improve collaboration in combating illicit drug production and trafficking.
Mr Ablakwa concluded his post by expressing appreciation to his hosts.
“I convey heartfelt appreciation to the Burkinabè government and people for the warm hospitality and frank discussions during my two-day official visit. We cherish our fantastic Ghana 🇬🇭 Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 relations.”
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