Ghana, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire have begun a week-long bilateral engagement in Wa in the Upper West Region to strengthen cross-border cooperation at the local level.
The meetings, which began on Monday, August 24, 2026, are being held separately between Ghana and Burkina Faso and Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
The engagement seeks to harmonise and validate legal texts that will govern the establishment and operation of Local Groups for Cross-Border Cooperation (LGCBCs) between Ghana and the two neighbouring countries.
The initiative is aimed at strengthening cooperation, promoting dialogue, facilitating information sharing and encouraging joint action among communities, local authorities and state and non-state actors along the common borders.
Representatives of relevant institutions and stakeholders from the three countries have converged in Wa to deliberate on the proposed local structures and ways to enhance collaboration among targeted cross-border communities.
Speaking at the opening of the first bilateral meeting between Ghana and Burkina Faso, the Deputy Commissioner General of the Ghana Boundary Commission (GhBC), Frederick Somuah Obeng, said the initiative would help build robust and sustainable local structures between targeted border districts and communities.
He said the LGCBCs would improve resilience in border communities while fostering shared socio-economic development along the boundary.
According to him, the proposed structures would provide a platform for local authorities and security agencies on both sides of the border to work together to address common challenges and identify opportunities for mutual development.
“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 said.
Mr Somuah Obeng said the establishment of the LGCBCs represents an important local-level dimension to broader bilateral agreements and conventions between Ghana and Burkina Faso.
He explained that the groups would help translate existing bilateral agreements into practical actions at the cross-border community level.
“It is important to emphasise that this process is not taking place in isolation. Rather, it forms part of a broader and steadily advancing framework of cooperation between Ghana and Burkina Faso,” he said.
“The establishment of the Local Groups for Cross-Border Cooperation should therefore be viewed as an important local-level dimension of these broader bilateral frameworks. These Groups should serve as practical avenues for bringing the spirit and objectives of our bilateral cooperation closer to the communities and local authorities that experience the realities of our shared boundary on a daily basis.”
He commended Burkina Faso for its continued cooperation throughout the process, which began in 2024, and acknowledged the technical and financial support provided by GIZ and the African Union Border Programme (AUBP).
The Upper West Regional Minister, who co-chaired the meeting, encouraged participants to actively contribute to the discussions, describing the validation phase as critical to establishing sustainable cross-border cooperation between the neighbouring regions.
The Governor of the Djoro Region and leader of the Burkina Faso delegation, Camarade Siaka Baro, also expressed appreciation to the Ghana Boundary Commission, the National Boundary Secretariat of Burkina Faso and the political leadership of both countries for their commitment to strengthening cooperation and improving development prospects in border communities.
The West Africa Regional Coordinator of the African Union Border Programme Support Project (GIZ/AUBP), representing the SKBoWa Project, Mamoudou Tapily, described the LGCBCs as institutional mechanisms that would give neighbouring local authorities the capacity to take direct action on shared cross-border issues.
He said the structures would enable communities on both sides to jointly manage challenges and opportunities shaped by their shared history and geography.
Mr Tapily said the meeting provides an opportunity for Ghana and Burkina Faso to harmonise their positions with the ultimate aim of approving the draft legal texts governing the LGCBCs.
He urged participants to contribute actively to the process, saying the success of the workshop would depend on their “technical rigour, spirit of conciliation and shared vision of cross-border cooperation.”
The initiative is expected to provide a stronger basis for sustained collaboration among Ghanaian, Burkinabe and Ivorian border communities and contribute to building more resilient, peaceful and prosperous border areas.
