By Gloria Ikibah
Leaders from West Africa and neighbouring states have agreed to deepen regional cooperation on security, governance and human development, warning that violent extremism has reached crisiszz levels and that continued inaction is no longer an option.
The commitment was contained in a joint communiqué issued at the end of a two-day High-Level Consultative Conference on Regional Cooperation and Security held in Accra, Ghana, from 29 to 30 January 2026.
The meeting brought together Heads of State and Government of Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, alongside representatives of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.
The conference was chaired by Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, with Presidents Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone and Joseph Boakai of Liberia leading their respective delegations.
In the communiqué, the leaders acknowledged the deep interconnections binding the region, noting that West Africa and its neighbours are linked by “geography, trade routes, shared ecosystems, and communities whose livelihoods depend mainly on cross-border movements.”
They cautioned, however, that the region has become the global epicentre of terrorism and violent extremism. According to the communiqué, “on a daily basis, at least eight (8) terror attacks are recorded which claims averagely forty-four (44) lives,” adding that “more than half of all global terrorism-related deaths are recorded in our region.”
The leaders described the rising wave of extremist violence as alarming and stressed that “inaction is not an option.”
The conference followed earlier deliberations involving Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, as well as Intelligence Chiefs, with support from the African Union Commission, the United Nations Development Programme and contributions from civil society organisations.
Participants said the meeting was convened to rebuild trust and restore sub-regional cooperation through a more structured and permanent framework, rather than what they described as episodic diplomacy. The goal, they said, is to establish shared programmes, standards and infrastructure priorities while managing common risks and reducing the high economic and social costs of fragmented responses.
At the end of the meeting, the leaders restated their firm resolve to strengthen cooperation in response to evolving peace, security and governance challenges. They agreed that sustainable security requires a shift towards what they termed a “human security” approach, grounded in regional solidarity, respect for sovereignty, and people-centred and gender-responsive peacebuilding.
On counterterrorism, the conference recognised the close link between transnational organised crime and violent extremism. The communiqué stated that countries agreed to strengthen regular regional security meetings, enhance intelligence and information sharing, and harmonise legal frameworks to improve the cross-border prosecution of terrorism-related offences, while safeguarding human rights. They also committed to strengthening deradicalisation programmes.
To address porous borders and the movement of criminal and extremist groups, the leaders agreed to consider the adoption of “hot-pursuit” arrangements through bilateral, minilateral or multilateral agreements. They further resolved to develop a foundational Memorandum of Understanding and cooperation protocols within six months, with a draft to be prepared within three months under the leadership of Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The communiqué also outlined commitments to strengthen mechanisms against all forms of trafficking, including narcotics, human trafficking and arms smuggling.
Beyond security, the leaders acknowledged that military responses alone cannot guarantee lasting peace. On governance and human security, they pledged to prioritise food security, healthcare, job creation and education, while strengthening local governance so that state presence is felt through service delivery rather than solely through security enforcement. They also agreed to leverage digital and emerging technologies to modernise governance, border management and public services.
Recognising climate change as a threat multiplier, the conference agreed to integrate climate and food security into peace and security planning and to develop a collective disaster preparedness and response framework to support displaced and vulnerable populations.
As part of next steps, the leaders agreed to institutionalise the consultative conference as a biannual platform and to fast-track the development of the foundational Memorandum of Understanding, which will also define resource mobilisation mechanisms. A monitoring mechanism will be established to track implementation of the decisions reached.
The communiqué concluded with what the leaders described as a renewed sense of regional solidarity, pledging to move beyond dialogue and turn commitments into “measurable outcomes that protect the lives and livelihoods of citizens across the region,” with strict monitoring to ensure full implementation.