… at the highest level, with West African leaders formally endorsing the long-awaited Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline. “Don’t be surprised when the gas comes your way,” quipped Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leone’s president and the current head of West Africa regional bloc Ecowas …
… According to him, while Ghana may not have the capacity to compel global technology companies to comply on its own, ECOWAS could pursue a coordinated regional approach to strengthen accountability. …
The government of Ghana has welcomed the decision of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government to endorse and support Ghana’s request for the issue of xenophobic attacks in South Africa to be placed on the agenda of the next African Union Summit. …
… onal cooperation, has called on the Government of Ghana to urgently engage Nigerian authorities over what it describes as persistent attacks on Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited, warning that failure to act could undermine bilateral relations and investor confidence within the ECOWAS …
… onal cooperation, has called on the Government of Ghana to urgently engage Nigerian authorities over what it describes as persistent attacks on Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited, warning that failure to act could undermine bilateral relations and investor confidence within the ECOWAS …
… In his statement on Tuesday, Koroma also expressed gratitude towards Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and the West African regional bloc Ecowas for their support. …
… According to her, GRB helps governments translate commitments under national laws, ECOWAS frameworks and the Maputo Protocol into actual budget lines instead of leaving them as unfunded declarations. …
… Regional coalition against FGM The Ofoase Ayirebi legislator also called on female parliamentarians across ECOWAS to establish a stronger regional coalition to advocate legislation outlawing Female Genital Mutilation in countries that have yet to prohibit the practice. …
… The junta that seized power in Guinea-Bissau in a coup last year released Pereira, the leader of the revolutionary PAIGC party, in February in an apparent attempt to appease the West African regional bloc ECOWAS. …
Ghana's delegation at the 33rd Meeting of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Africa in Vienna called for stronger regional and international cooperation to combat drug trafficking and transnational organised crime. During the period under review, NACOC and partner security agencies made 217 arrests and 165 prosecutions, intercepting more than 8.5 tonnes of assorted narcotic drugs and 45.4 million tramadol tablets.
Ghana's delegation at the 33rd Meeting of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Africa in Vienna called for stronger regional and international cooperation to combat drug trafficking and transnational organised crime. During the period under review, NACOC and partner security agencies made 217 arrests and 165 prosecutions, intercepting more than 8.5 tonnes of assorted narcotic drugs and 45.4 million tramadol tablets.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghanaian citizens can travel to at least 41 countries across Africa, the Caribbean and other regions without obtaining a visa in advance under visa waiver arrangements, though permitted stay durations vary—most offer up to 90 days, while Grenada, Maldives and Zambia allow 30 days.
The Ghana Revenue Authority has warned against using foreign-registered vehicles to evade customs duties and taxes under the Temporary Vehicle Importation system, citing concerns that some Ghanaians are purchasing vehicles in ECOWAS countries and importing them under foreign registration without paying applicable duties.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, Founder and Executive Chairman of the African Prosperity Network, says implementing mobile money interoperability across Africa will be the fastest means to promote intra-African trade among SMEs, enabling seamless cross-border transactions that would stimulate demand, encourage investment, and strengthen supply chains across the continent.
The Africa Prosperity Network is launching the fifth edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues, scheduled for January 27–29, 2027, in Accra under the theme "The Borderless Africa We Want: Move Freely. Pay Seamlessly. Trade More." Registration opens September 7, 2026, as organisers aim to convert African integration policy commitments into practical outcomes, building on previous dialogues' progress including a regional commitment to establish continent-wide mobile money interoperability by 2027.
An analysis argues that social media platforms are fundamentally changing how Africans determine who governs them, replacing traditional military coups with a new form of state capture built on narratives and information control rather than barracks seizures.
The Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2027 will take place January 27–29 at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, themed "The Borderless Africa We Want: Move Freely. Pay Seamlessly. Trade More." The venue change from the Accra International Conference Centre—which is undergoing refurbishment—will limit attendance to about 1,000 people, compared to 6,400 at the previous edition.
Niger's military ruler Abdourahamane Tiani's government reasserted control of a key airbase in Niamey after mutinous soldiers attacked on Saturday, amid broader jihadist insurgency challenges. The airbase hosts military aircraft, drones, a counter-terrorism unit of the Alliance of Sahel States, and Russian and Italian forces.
Researchers from West Africa are working to turn scientific findings from a 2025 ECOWAS Lassa Fever Conference into research papers for publication, with the West African Health Organisation and partners holding a workshop in Abuja to finalise manuscripts for submission to the Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health.
Guinea-Bissau's National Public Health Laboratory has received laboratory equipment worth €1.5 million from the West African Health Organisation to strengthen disease detection, diagnostic capacity, and public health emergency response.
Guinea-Bissau is serving as the pilot country for a new ECOWAS regional community health policy. The West African Health Organisation (WAHO) began high-level talks with the country's authorities on 18 August to build support for implementation across ECOWAS member states.
Ato Coleman, Senior Fellow at IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, argues that effective African leadership requires personal values, emotional intelligence, stakeholder engagement and disciplined execution—not technical competence alone. He defined a leader as someone who lives by their deepest personal values and uses those to build a case for others to follow, citing Sierra Leone's Ebola response as an example of Ubuntu leadership based on collective responsibility.
Ghana's 24-Hour Economy Secretariat and the Business Outsourcing Services Association of Ghana (BOSAG) plan to build the country's outsourcing talent pool through skills development, infrastructure and market access, positioning Ghana as a leading outsourcing destination. The partnership aims to create employment for young people through training aligned to international standards and multilingual capabilities.
Research on West African itinerant retailers in Ghana found that 58.2 per cent entered through unapproved routes, citing alleged extortion at official posts, financial difficulties, and inadequate travel documentation as key factors. The study argues border-security efforts must address underlying challenges that discourage use of authorised entry points.
A commentary on the 96th ECOWAS Council of Ministers session in Freetown argues that the regional body's agenda—dominated by institutional administration and economic matters—does not reflect forward-looking intelligence assessments of security threats facing the region, suggesting the organization is not configured to anticipate emerging problems.
Ghana's successive administrations have treated the Sahel jihadist threat as an issue for Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Benin, but West African instability is widening: jihadist groups now control over fifty percent of Mali's territory and have advanced further south despite military juntas' coups and security collaboration with Russia's Africa Corps.
Online recruitment networks targeting African youth with false promises of jobs and opportunities abroad pose a growing threat, with reported cases of thousands of Ghanaians and Africans recruited to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued repeated cautions about these schemes, which use tactics such as high wages, visa assurances, and free travel to lure vulnerable citizens.
Ghana's Investment Promotion Authority and Ghana Union of Traders Association have agreed on measures to protect Ghanaian-owned informal retail businesses, including stronger monitoring and enforcement, public education, and a reporting mechanism for suspected breaches of laws governing activities reserved for Ghanaian citizens.
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism has commended the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority for efforts to attract quality investments and pledged support for reforms under the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority Act, 2023, which expand GIPA's role to promote investment across regions and facilitate Ghanaian investments abroad, while removing blanket minimum capital requirements for foreign investors except in the trading sector.
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism visited the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority to review its operations and strategic direction. GIPA Chief Executive Officer Simon Madjie outlined the Authority's mandate under the new Act 1173 of 2023, which repositioned the institution to promote investment into Ghana, support investment within Ghana at regional and district levels, and facilitate Ghanaian investment abroad under ECOWAS and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has commissioned five envoys to represent Ghana in Kuwait, Nigeria, Niger, Norway, and Sierra Leone, tasking them to advance Ghana's foreign policy interests and strengthen bilateral relations. She emphasized that Ghana must maintain visibility in global affairs and adopt a more active approach to international relations amid significant geopolitical changes.
Ghana's Trade Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare has intervened to resolve a trade dispute that disrupted onion exports from Nigeria to Ghana, with traders and importers praising her engagement with stakeholders for restoring cross-border onion movement.
Scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Water Research Institute have developed an integrated aquaculture-agriculture system that converts nutrient-rich wastewater from fish production into input for crop production. Trials have demonstrated good yields in crops like cucumbers, with the approach helping to reduce pollution and address environmental and health risks associated with wastewater use in farming.
The Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry and TradeMark Africa have renewed their partnership through an MoU to strengthen trade facilitation, boost exports and support sustainable economic growth under Ghana's obligations under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, AfCFTA and ECOWAS trade agenda. The renewed agreement will support modernising border management systems, strengthening digital trade infrastructure and reducing the time and cost of moving goods along the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor.
A journalist describes frustrations from multiple trips to Togo across the Ghana-Togo border, citing difficulties with ECOWAS free-movement protocols and military checkpoints demanding payments, and raises questions about how ECOWAS agreements are being implemented at the eastern border.
Sir Sam Jonah has commenced international arbitration proceedings against Nigeria's Federal Capital Development Authority over the termination of a 501-hectare development lease in Abuja, which the company claims was unlawful and contrary to the terms of the development agreement.
The Ghana Civil Society Coalition Against Transnational Crime will launch in Accra on August 12 to coordinate efforts against trafficking for forced criminality and related crimes, bringing together civil society organisations, professional bodies, youth groups, faith-based organisations, traditional leaders, businesses and individuals. The coalition aims to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders, support trafficking victims, and address emerging forms of organised crime, including the trend of young people being recruited through fake online job advertisements and trafficked to engage in criminal activities abroad.
Ghana's busiest Nima Market will be redeveloped into a modern 24-hour trading facility with underground parking for 100–200 vehicles, improved security, and social amenities to ease congestion and improve trading conditions for thousands of traders and customers.
ECOWAS will roll out the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions (GES-PI) initiative next year to strengthen gender mainstreaming across public institutions in the sub-region. The initiative, implemented in partnership with UNDP and GIZ, will assess institutions against internationally recognised standards and implement reforms promoting gender-responsive governance, with the goal of attaining "Gold Seal" certification.
JoyNews journalist Maame Esi Nyamekye Thompson hosted the 21st Kronti ne Akwamu Lecture at CDD-Ghana, featuring UN Special Envoy Hannah Tetteh discussing how the international system is shifting from multilateral cooperation toward geopolitical rivalry, exposing smaller economies to greater vulnerabilities.