The two-day High-Level Consultative Conference on Regional Cooperation and Security convened under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama commenced on Thursday, 29th January, 2026 in Accra, Ghana with the meetings of Senior Officials and Ministers. It brought together Ministers and Experts from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo as well as international bodies including African Union, United Nations Development Programme and others such as the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre and the Centre for Democratic Development. The Consultative Conference seeks to strengthen regional collaboration in addressing evolving security challenges in the region.
Delivering the keynote address, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Her Excellency Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang expressed support for the Consultative Conference and stated that challenges such as violent extremism, terrorism, organised crime, cyber threats and youth unemployment are intercontinental and transnational. She indicated that fragmented approaches in addressing the complex challenges have not been adequate, as a result, she emphasised the need for coordination between security strategies, foreign policy and development agenda. She said frameworks aimed at preventing these challenges are imperative, and with political support and coordinated efforts, the region could achieve peace and prosperity.
In his remarks, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (MP),
observed that the region was confronted with an existential threat as violent extremism has moved to the region, particularly the Sahel. He stated that this was evident in the number of terror attacks that occur daily. Emphasising the exigent situation in the region, he urged the move beyond episodic diplomacy towards a structured, multidimensional framework for sustained regional cooperation.
Prior to the Ministerial Session, a Senior Officials meeting was held to deliberate and provide technical advice on the way forward with regard to the current security situation in the region in order to ensure coordinated efforts in resolving them. In his keynote address, the Minister for the Interior, Honourable Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak (MP) said that the security landscape in West Africa and Sahel had evolved to an unprecedented complexity and urgency, as affiliates such as groups found in the Sahel continue to exploit governance gaps, inter-communal tensions, economic hardships and environmental stressors to consolidate territorial influence to impose control on civilian populations. Acknowledging the efforts of existing structures in addressing the challenges, he recommended renewed strategic direction, enhanced coordination and fundamental shift in perspective.
On his part, the National Security Coordinator, COP Osman Abdul-Razak highlighted the threat in the region and noted that such challenges could not be addressed effectively in a fragmented manner and called for enhanced cooperation, trust-building, and intelligence-sharing mechanisms.
