Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang and Kaja Kallas displaying the documents
Ghana has made history by becoming the first African country to formalise a Security and Defence Partnership with the European Union (EU).
The partnership was signed by EU High Representative/Vice President, Kaja Kallas, on behalf of the European Union and by Vice-President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang.
This landmark agreement aims to boost the country’s capacity to tackle terrorism and insecurity in the West African sub-region.
The partnership will see the EU provide Ghana with security equipment, including surveillance drones, anti-drone systems, and motorcycles, as part of a €50 million support package.
The agreement also focuses on counter-terrorism, conflict prevention, cyber security, and maritime security, marking a significant shift in EU-Ghana relations.
Vice President, Professor Opoku-Agyemang emphasised the need for coordinated regional security measures, citing the recent killing of Ghanaian traders in Burkina Faso as a stark reminder of the threats facing the region.
EU High Representative, Madam Kallas, stressed that security in Europe and Africa is deeply interconnected, and the partnership will help address shared threats.
“This is the first of its kind in an African country. And it matters because security in Europe and Africa is deeply, deeply interconnected. The new agreement allows us to work more closely in areas like counterterrorism, conflict prevention, cyber security,” she said.
Madam Kallas further supervised the handing over of the military equipment, including surveillance drones and anti-drones guns, motorcycles.
“What you see here today is a tangible demonstration of what our partnership can deliver. The EU supports Ghana’s military in the northern part of the country and beyond, and we support West African countries like Ghana in the Gulf of Guinea to counter terrorism, strengthen border security and enhance maritime security, because peace at our borders matters,” she added.
The EU High Representative further mentioned that both the EU and Ghana face threats to peace and security, saying, “we both face wars in our wider neighbourhoods, and we have both constantly called for peace in Ukraine, in Sudan, in the Sahel, in the Middle East. Russia’s war on Ukraine is an existential threat for Europe, but it also has consequences that are felt beyond our borders; also here in Ghana.”
By Prince Fiifi Yorke