President Akufo-Addo (right) being welcomed to Burkina Faso by President Roch Marc Christian Kabore

We’ll defeat terrorism, violent extremism together — President

News Desk Report Jun - 10 - 2021 , 09:06

The Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has assured the government and the people of Burkina Faso of the commitment of the regional body to help win the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

Commiserating with President Roch Marc Christian Kabore of Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou yesterday following the killing of 160 people in that country by yet-to-be-identified militants on Sunday, June 6, 2021, President Akufo-Addo said the scourge of terrorism must be defeated in West Africa for citizens to live in peace, freedom, progress and prosperity.

He, however, said the fight against terrorism must be a collective effort, for which reason it was incumbent on ECOWAS to pool together and assist countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali that were at the frontline of the battle against terrorism and violent extremism to win the fight.

ECOWAS Summit

With the next ECOWAS Summit scheduled to be held in Accra on June 19, 2021, the Chairman said top on the agenda of the meeting of Heads of State would not only include reform of the organisation but also a firm resolution by member states to implement a comprehensive plan of action to effectively combat the menace of terrorism.

President Akufo-Addo further expressed the determination and commitment of Ghana to deepen and strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation with Burkina Faso in areas such as infrastructure, railways development and agriculture for the mutual benefit of their respective peoples.

Appreciation

For his part, President Kabore expressed appreciation to President Akufo-Addo, the Ghanaian people and the entire ECOWAS for the solidarity shown to the Burkinabe people in their difficult moments.

He said with countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire bearing the brunt of terrorism and violent extremism, it was important that member states rallied behind one another to defeat the menace.

The Burkinabe President said that it was only West Africans working together who could defeat terrorism and lent his support to his Ghanaian counterpart’s call for ECOWAS to take the lead in the fight against terrorism. President Akufo-Addo has since returned home.