Accra, Aug. 25, GNA – Ghana has commenced a week-long series of meetings with Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire in Wa, in the Upper West Region, to harmonise and validate the legal framework for establishing Local Groups for Cross-Border Cooperation (LGCBCs).
The initiative, according to a statement from the Corporate Affairs Unit of the Ghana National Boundary Commission, seeks to strengthen cooperation, promote dialogue, and facilitate joint action among communities and local-level actors along the common boundaries in the Savannah and Upper West Regions.
Opening the first bilateral session between Ghana and Burkina Faso in Wa, Mr Frederick Somuah Obeng, Deputy Commissioner General of the Ghana Boundary Commission, said the initiative would build robust and sustainable local structures between targeted cross-border districts and communities.
He explained that the cooperation framework would improve resilience in border communities and foster shared socio-economic development, while providing a platform for local authorities and security agencies to jointly address challenges and identify opportunities for mutual growth.
“The LGCBCs have the potential to become important platforms for identifying common challenges, developing joint solutions, strengthening community resilience, promoting local development and deepening social cohesion among border communities on both sides of our common boundary,” he stressed.
Mr Obeng noted that the establishment of the LGCBCs represents a local-level dimension of broader bilateral agreements and conventions between Ghana and Burkina Faso, making them practical avenues for translating high-level commitments into community realities.
The Upper West Regional Minister, co-chairing the meeting, urged participants to contribute actively, describing the bilateral validation phase as critical to establishing sustainable cross-border cooperation.
Camarade Siaka Baro, the Governor of the Djoro Region and leader of the Burkina Faso delegation, expressed appreciation to the Ghana Boundary Commission, Burkina Faso’s National Boundary Secretariat, and the political leadership of both countries for their commitments to strengthening cooperation.
Mr Mamoudou Tapily, West Africa Regional Coordinator of the African Union Border Programme Support Project, said the LGCBCs are powerful institutional levers that grant legal personality and capacity for direct action to neighbouring local authorities.
He emphasised that the workshop’s success depended on participants’ “technical rigour, spirit of conciliation and shared vision of cross-border cooperation.”
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Godwill Arthur-Mensah
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]