Mlnr PR-Updates
The National Boundary Commissions of Ghana, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mali convened in Ghana for a high-level sub-regional consultation.
With leaders stressing that borders must act as bridges rather than barriers for unity, trade, and prosperity, the meeting represented a significant step toward enhancing coordinated management of shared international boundaries.
Speaking at the opening, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, characterised the gathering as a significant step toward promoting peaceful boundary governance and strengthening regional integration.
The Minister emphasised that the consultation expands upon recent national initiatives, such as a thorough stakeholder workshop organised by the Ghana Boundary Commission.
According to Hon. Buah, the results reaffirmed the critical need for data-driven planning, inclusive stakeholder involvement, and coordinated institutional action in order to successfully manage increasingly complex border dynamics.
He warned that borders are similarly subject to problems like irregular migration, smuggling, conflicts related to transhumance, and environmental degradation because they are hubs of trade, cultural exchange, and livelihoods.
He emphasised that rather than relying just on national solutions, addressing these issues calls for coordinated, forward-thinking initiatives based on trust and cooperation.
Brigadier General Anthony Ntem, Commissioner-General of the Ghana Boundary Commission, emphasised that the consultation is the result of intensive national consultations among participating nations. He disclosed that each nation had conducted internal assessments to align its goals for boundary governance, with Ghana’s efforts being directed by its ten-year strategic framework.
He claimed that these discussions revealed a crucial truth: in the face of changing regional issues, disjointed approaches to border control are no longer practical.
The consultation is conducted under the framework of the Integrated Border Stability Mechanism for West Africa (IBSM), a multilateral platform designed to assist states in addressing border-related and cross-border challenges in a coordinated, evidence-based, and complementary manner, according to IOM Chief of Missions Mrs. Fatou Diallo Ndiaye.
The results of the Joint Baseline Assessments carried out among IBSM member states serve as the foundation for the discussions, she continued.
These evaluations made it abundantly evident that institutional coordination and governance mechanisms needed to be strengthened.
In order to evaluate urgent border issues and establish national priorities, the exercise brought together important organisations, security services, and development partners.
Source: newsthemegh.com