Ghana’s president, John Mahama visits Burkina Faso
President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, paid a working visit to Burkina Faso and was received by the country’s Head of State, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, in a private audience at the Koulouba Palace on Monday, March 10, to discuss bilateral relations.
The session was then extended to the delegations of the two countries, allowing for a review of the excellent relationship between the Republic of Ghana and Burkina Faso, and to identify prospects for strengthening the Ouagadougou-Accra axis.
At the end of the meeting, the Ghanaian president gave a press statement; he recalled that the Republic of Ghana and Burkina Faso are united by geography and history. He also places his trip within the African tradition, which recommends that neighbours visit each other.
President Mahama took the opportunity to express his gratitude to Captain Traoré, who had travelled to Accra for his inauguration in January, held at the iconic Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana.
Terrorism & trade
President Mahama quoted an African proverb saying, “When your neighbour’s house is on fire you have to help him to quench it otherwise it will spread to your own house;” relating it to the security issues in West Africa, particularly the continuous surge in terrorism.
The President of Ghana insisted on the need to pull efforts to fight the “cancer” of terrorism together. “Terrorism is like a cancer. If you don’t fight it together it will spread throughout the body. So how we can collaborate in terms of the fight against terrorism is another issue we discussed,” he said.
The exchanges between the two Heads of State also focused on increasing trade and strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries. According to President Mahama, they discussed how to strengthen the transit trade through Ghana for Burkina Faso importers who ship their goods to their country.
In his press statement, they also talked about the export of some goods from Ghana to Burkina Faso and vice versa, as well as commerce in agricultural products between the two countries. “Our goal is to facilitate the free movement of goods and people and to facilitate the transit of goods and merchandise from Burkina Faso to Ghana [and vice versa],” said President Mahama.
Daily flight and a gas pipeline
The two heads of states proposed strengthening air links between Ouagadougou and Accra. “There is a local airline in Ghana that is considering opening a direct line to Ouagadougou with at least one flight per day,” said President Mahama.
The construction of the Accra-Bolgatenga gas pipeline and the possibility of its extension to Burkina Faso as well as the supply of electricity to Burkina Faso were perspectives discussed, according to President Mahama. He had said recently that Burkina Faso bought a storage terminal in Tema, Ghana, adding that the two countries were considering how the pipeline could be beneficial.
Alliance of Sahel States
They addressed the Alliance of Sahel States, a confederation that was established by Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso following their separation from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS).
President Mahama had already travelled to Bamako on Saturday to meet with his Malian counterpart, President General Assimi Goita, and Niamey on Sunday to meet with General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who is the president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland of Niger.
He told Captain Traoré that he would table their concerns at the next ECOWAS summit, adding that he had gained fresh insights into the three nations’ worries regarding their relations with ECOWAS.
“I think there’s a breakdown of trust amongst the leadership. It will take time to rebuild it, but we must work on it so that we restore trust and confidence with each other; so that we can work together, even if we are not part of the same regional body,” emphasized President Mahama.
Abeeb Lekan Sodiq is a Managing Editor & Writer at theafricandream.net. He is as well a Graphics Designer and also known as Arakunrin Lekan.
