Ghana on Tuesday became the first African country to formalise a Security and Defence Partnership with the European Union (EU), positioning itself as a strategic anchor against the jihadist violence spreading southward from the Sahel into West Africa’s coastal states.
The agreement was signed at the National Security Council Secretariat in Accra by Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, covering counterterrorism, intelligence sharing, cybersecurity, border management, maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, and crisis response.
“Today, we are taking our partnership to a new level by signing a security and defence partnership. This is the first of its kind in Africa,” Kallas said at the ceremony. She confirmed that the EU has committed €50 million in security support to Ghana since 2023, covering military equipment, advanced communication systems and training for security personnel.
The signing was immediately followed by a physical handover of military assets to the Ghana Armed Forces. Equipment transferred on Tuesday included surveillance drones, anti-drone guns, communication systems and motorcycles, to be deployed in strengthening Ghana’s northern borders and maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Vice President Opoku-Agyemang cited the recent killing of Ghanaian tomato traders in Burkina Faso as a vivid reminder of the urgency behind the agreement. “No country can secure itself in isolation. The threats facing our sub-region today, from violent extremism to organised crime, are transnational. They require integrated approaches that align security strategies with our development agendas,” she said.
National Security Coordinator Osman Abdul-Razak underscored the timeliness of the deal, noting that Ghana shares a border with Burkina Faso, which, along with other Sahel countries, accounted for nearly half of all terrorism-related deaths globally for the third consecutive year in 2025 according to the Global Terrorism Report.
Both delegations were clear that the partnership does not involve the deployment of European troops on Ghanaian soil or the establishment of permanent military bases. The Ghana Armed Forces remain the primary actors in protecting Ghanaian territory. Total EU support for peace and security in Ghana has now surpassed €100 million, with further assistance scheduled for delivery in 2026.
