President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the preoccupation for Ghana and countries of the ECOWAS region is to find the means to work towards resolving the security situation in the Sahel region.
President Akufo-Addo said the biggest challenge confronting Ghana and countries of West Africa is the Jihad insurgence in the Sahel, which remains “the biggest challenge” confronting all the states of West Africa.
He said what was initially thought to remain in the upper part of West Africa, these Jihadists are pushing down to the coast and “our nightmare is the situation whereby these insurgents in the Sahel link up with pirates in the Gulf of Guinea to destabilise the entire region.
President Akufo-Addo made this point when the US Deputy Secretary of State, Kurt M. Campbell, called on him at the Jubilee House.
President Akufo-Addo said the US continues to be one of Ghana’s most important partners and friends whose democratic institutions have been influenced by US history, particularly the country’s democratic journey and “we are determined to keep it so.”
The President said as Ghana goes to elections in December this year, his government is working hard to make sure the country maintains its reputation as a democratic beacon of hope in Africa.
He said the current preoccupation for the country is the preparation towards the December general elections.
President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the US support to Ghana, particularly to the Electoral Commission to manage the electoral process in the country, and said he is looking forward to working with the US government again.
Mr Campbell is on an official visit to Ghana to strengthen the bilateral ties between the US and Ghana, particularly in areas of security, business and financial cooperation.
Mr Campbell, who has had some working relations with Ghana in the past, said he and his team are in Ghana to work “constructively in every area that is important to Ghana going forward.”
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
