Ghana, US sign security cooperation agreement

Ghana and the United States have signed a security cooperation deal on Thursday that would see the West African nation enhance capacity in dealing with instability and insecurity.

The deal, or the Security Governance Initiative (SGI) Joint Country Action Plan (JCAP), is based on partnership and joint analysis of the opportunities and challenges governments face.

Its key goals and objectives are to increase partner nation capacity to meet citizen security needs; prevent or mitigate instability and conflict and counter terrorist activities and their enabling environments; promote democratic governance, rule of law, and respect for human rights, among others.

The agreement will see Ghana and five other African countries working together to improve security sector governance and capacity to address threats, including those from terrorist groups, illicit activities, cybercrime, maritime surveillance and piracy.

Under the initiative, the U.S. will help the countries to develop joint security strategies based on assessments from shared data.

Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister Hanna Serwaa Tetteh said the initiative would help Ghana and other selected African countries build stronger institutions to counter emerging and existing security threats on the continent. Endit