By James Amoh Junior, GNA
Accra, Sept. 29, GNA – Major General Matthew W. Brown, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), has called for stronger African-led regional security cooperation to address the continent’s evolving security challenges.
He said the United States regarded Ghana as an important and trusted security partner and would continue to engage Ghanaian authorities to better understand the country’s security priorities and identify areas for enhanced cooperation.
Maj. Gen. Brown made the call during a media roundtable with selected journalists in Accra as part of his engagement with Ghanaian security authorities and other stakeholders.
He said his immediate priority was to gain a deeper understanding of the security challenges confronting Ghana, the country’s approach to addressing them and its plans for future force development.
“My main priority is understanding,” Maj. Gen. Brown said, explaining that the United States wanted to understand the assessments of Ghana’s senior leadership on prevailing security threats and how the country intended to respond to them.
He said such understanding would enable the United States to identify areas where it could provide appropriate assistance and support.
“I’ve obviously got my own estimates as a professional military officer and somebody who’s focused on these problems as well. But that’s just an input. Truly, the output is shared understanding with our partners,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Brown said the long-standing military relationship between Ghana and the United States was built on mutual respect, shared interests and values, as well as common security concerns.
He said the relationship provided opportunities for both countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation while supporting broader regional efforts to address security threats.
The SETAF-AF, he said, was responsible for bringing together and integrating U.S. Army resources in support of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) campaign plan.
Headquartered in Vicenza, Italy, SETAF-AF supports U.S. Army activities across Africa and works with African partners on security cooperation, military exercises and capacity-building.
Maj. Gen. Brown, who assumed command of the task force in June 2026, succeeding Maj. Gen. Andrew C. Gainey, said its focus included security cooperation in the land domain, military exercises and engagements aimed at encouraging African countries to develop regional solutions to shared security challenges.
He emphasised that sustainable solutions to Africa’s security challenges should be African-led, with the United States playing a complementary role.
“AFRICOM’s approach to dealing with these regional security problems is certainly understanding that it’s regional, certainly understanding that in order for any solution to be enduring, it’s not U.S.-led. It is truly African-led,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Brown said some security challenges could only be effectively addressed when security forces from different countries worked together in complementary ways.
He said the United States would therefore leverage its existing relationships with African militaries, including the Ghana Armed Forces, to promote greater security cooperation across the region.
Beyond military cooperation, Maj. Gen. Brown said lasting security was closely linked to economic opportunity, stressing that countries could not achieve enduring security without creating conditions for economic growth and development.
“A large part of our military approach is how can we, in a lot of ways, partner with industry, both here on the African continent, also back in the United States, to figure out where security forces and then also industry partners can work together to innovate, to experiment, and help to solve several of the challenges that confront the states in this region,” he said.
He said his engagements in Ghana included meetings with senior government and military officials to understand their priorities and align U.S. military activities with Ghana’s needs.
Maj. Gen. Brown said the engagements would enable his headquarters to organise its resources and remain responsive to requests from Ghana and other African partners.
Mr Rolf Olson, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Accra, said the continued visits by senior U.S. military officials reflected the importance Washington attached to dialogue with its African partners.
He said Maj. Gen. Brown was the fourth senior U.S. military official to visit Ghana since the beginning of the year.
He mentioned visits by U.S. Africa Command Commander, Gen. Dagvin Anderson, U.S. Naval Forces Commander Admiral Wyckoff, and Lt. Gen. Brennan as part of continuing military-to-military engagements.
Mr Olson said the visits enabled U.S. officials to meet their Ghanaian counterparts, discuss priorities and identify areas where the United States could provide support.
He said the United States encouraged its senior military officials responsible for the region to visit Ghana regularly, engage their counterparts and gain a better understanding of the country’s priorities.
Mr Olson said the U.S. Embassy’s objective was to ensure that senior military officials maintained regular engagement with their Ghanaian counterparts and remained responsive to areas where the United States could provide support.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: James Amoh Junior
Email: [email protected]