President John Dramani Mahama has called for stronger regional and international cooperation to tackle terrorism and growing security threats in the Sahel.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on September 27, President Mahama said the security situation in the region requires a collective response, warning that no country can effectively confront terrorism on its own.
He traced the escalation of instability in the Sahel partly to the aftermath of the conflict in Libya, which he said contributed to the proliferation of weapons and the movement of terrorist groups into the region.
President Mahama said the subsequent military coups in parts of the Sahel must also be understood within the broader context of deteriorating security and political instability.
Against this backdrop, he called for sustained dialogue between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
He stressed the importance of rebuilding bridges between the two blocs as part of wider efforts to confront shared security challenges and promote stability across West Africa.
President Mahama maintained that terrorism transcends national borders and therefore requires coordinated action at both the regional and international levels.
He said Ghana, for its part, is strengthening surveillance along its borders and improving intelligence-sharing with neighbouring countries to guard against potential security threats.
According to the President, the measures are part of broader efforts to protect Ghana’s territorial integrity while collaborating with other countries to address insecurity in the region.
He stressed that closer cooperation, intelligence-sharing and sustained engagement among countries remain critical to tackling the terrorism threat confronting the Sahel and the wider West African sub-region.
