Ghana and Burkina Faso strengthen security along key trade routes
Ghana and Burkina Faso have signed a defence cooperation agreement aimed at protecting cross-border trade routes amid growing security concerns in the Sahel.
The agreement was signed in Accra on 10 August by Ghana’s Acting Defence Minister Dr Kassawa Tofosen and Burkina Faso’s Minister of State and Minister of War and Patriotic Defence, Major General Celestine Simpore. It focuses on securing the movement of people and goods between the two countries, including commercial transport routes. The deal is particularly significant because Burkina Faso is landlocked and relies on routes through Ghana, including access to the Port of Tema. Earlier this year, eight Ghanaian tomato traders were killed in a terrorist attack in northern Burkina Faso, highlighting the risks facing traders and transport workers.
The agreement builds on wider cooperation between the two countries, which reactivated their permanent joint commission in February and signed seven agreements covering transport, border cooperation, disaster management and counter-narcotics efforts. However, there has been no public announcement of a permanent Ghanaian troop deployment to Burkina Faso, or details on the number of soldiers, routes or rules of engagement. The agreement therefore focuses on security cooperation around vital trade corridors, with the aim of protecting an economic lifeline connecting Ghana to its landlocked neighbour.
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