After stops in Bamako and Niamey, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama continues his Sahel tour in Ouagadougou, aiming to strengthen cooperation between ECOWAS and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Upon his arrival in the Burkinabè capital, President Mahama was welcomed with military honours and received the traditional Saponé hat from his counterpart, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, before being cheered by the large Ghanaian community living in Ouagadougou.
The two heads of state first held private talks at the honour lounge of the airport before proceeding to the Koulouba Presidential Palace for a working session.
According to the Burkinabè presidency, discussions focused on bilateral cooperation between Ghana and Burkina Faso, security issues in the Sahel and geopolitical developments at both sub-regional and international levels.
This visit is part of Mahama’s regional tour, which began on Saturday in Bamako (Mali) and continued Sunday in Niamey (Niger)—the two other members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
At each stop, the Ghanaian leader advocated for closer ties between ECOWAS and AES.
During his visit to Mali, Mahama described the AES as an “irrevocable reality” and emphasised the importance of fostering “decent relations” between the two organisations.
“”We will work to ensure that the AES—an irreversible confederation of Sahelian states—can maintain decent relations with ECOWAS,” he stated in Bamako.
HO/ac/sf/lb/as/APA