Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire sign cooperation agreements
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have signed a strategic partnership agreement (SAP) and three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to give new momentum to Ivorian-Ghanaian cooperation and relations.
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The agreement covers the areas of defence and security, cocoa and cashew, as well as other strategic crops, maritime cooperation, mining, energy and environment, transport and economic policies.
The MoUs focused on geological, mineral and industrial cooperation, establishment of a joint technical expert subcommittee for the monitoring of pollution from the illegal mining activities in the Bia and Tano river basins shared by Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and President Alassane Ouattara signed the agreement on behalf of their respective countries to mark the high point of a two-day visit to Ghana by the Ivorian leader.
Signing the agreement, President Akufo-Addo said it would bind Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in even closer intimacy, and go beyond the conventional tools of cooperation. He expressed optimism that the relations between the countries would yield “results of a historic and enduring nature for our two peoples.”
Maritime dispute
In a communiqué issued at the end of the visit by the Ivorian leader, President Akufo-Addo and President Ouattara acknowledged the spirit of brotherliness with which the maritime dispute between the two countries had been handled from the beginning.
The communiqué, which was read by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, outlined the two leaders’ commitment to ensure the smooth implementation of the ruling by the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on the delimitation of the maritime boundaries between their countries.
On maritime cooperation, the two governments reaffirmed their commitment to abide strictly by and work together to implement the ruling of the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered on 23rd September, 2017, in the dispute concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean.
In accordance with their commitment, the two governments agreed to develop practical arrangements for the joint exploitation and management of trans-boundary oil and gas and other resources.
“They will also work to achieve stronger cooperation in the areas of oil research, hydrocarbon exploration, development and management, and sharing of information,” the agreement added further.
Taking into account their rich mining potential, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire reiterated their commitment to strengthening their cooperation in the areas of mining, policies, increase in national participation and exchange of information and capacity building.
“Specific emphasis shall be put on combatting the proliferation of illegal small-scale mining with the view to eliminating its negative impact on the physical and social environment. Furthermore, cooperation should be strengthened as far as climate change and coastal erosion is concerned,” the statement added.
Defence and security
With regards to defence and security, the communiqué said the two countries agreed to reinforce the relationship among the relevant agencies to organise joint exercises and operations and to establish joint training programmes.
“In order to effectively fight terrorism, maritime piracy, cybercrime, human trafficking and narcotics, the illicit circulation of small arms and light weapons, and the spread of destabilising acts from one territory to the other, the two governments have decided to strengthen their cooperation in the field of information exchange and intelligence,” it said.
In order to exercise better control over the international price of cocoa, according to the communique, the two governments, through their respective cocoa institutions, agreed to adopt common policies on the marketing, storage, processing and promotion of local consumption of cocoa.
Additionally, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire pledged to put in place a common strategy, including the need to converge towards a harmonised and consolidated price to be paid to farmers, to contribute to the eradication of the smuggling of cocoa and cashew.
Transportation
The two governments also decided to strengthen their cooperation in the area of air, sea, rail and road transport.
In the short term, the communique said the two countries agreed to speed up the Abidjan-Accra highway project.
They also pledged to increase the volume of trade between them, and to create a stable inclusive economic environment, commit to execute the relevant instruments and take the necessary measures towards closer convergence of their economic policies.
To that end, the communiqué proposed the establishment of a conference of heads of state of the two countries within 12 months of the signing of the agreement to be responsible for guiding and promoting the implementation of the common strategic policies.
Additionally, the two countries, it said, agreed to establish a joint implementation and monitoring committee, consisting of the ministers of Foreign Affairs and the ministers of the two governments in charge of the strategic areas defined in the strategic agreement to be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the decisions of the conference.
President Ouattara and his entourage have since returned to Cote d’Ivoire.
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