On Saturday, October 28, in Accra, Ghana’s president Nana Akuffo Adodo spoke with the senior EU ambassador on regional and global challenges.
Ghana was presented with a fleet of over one hundred armoured cars by the European Union on this special occasion. Ghana and its neighbours Togo, Benin, and Ivory Coast on the Gulf of Guinea are more vulnerable to the chaos that Islamist warfare is causing in the Sahel.
The country’s President said, “It is imperative to understand that no single country can confront the terrorist threat on its own. Collaborative efforts among nations facing this challenge and a critical support from partners such as the European Union who share our security concerns, remain crucial in mitigating the terrorist threat in the West African region.”
Officially, the transfer of militarised vehicles is a component of help that would also eventually include electronic warfare systems and aerial surveillance equipment.
The EU stated in a statement that the assistance to Ghana was a component of a larger 616 million euro package intended to bolster the security and defence of the four Gulf of Guinea coastal nations.
Ghana has not yet recorded any attacks by jihadists within its borders, while Benin’s military reports that since 2021, they have dealt with about 20 cross-border incursions. Attacks have also occurred on Togo’s northern border.
EU funding, according to EU foreign policy head Joseph Borrell, would also focus on services and job development, particularly in northern Ghana where there are worries that jihadists may try to exploit socioeconomic unrest.
