Ghana, Germany and United States join hands Coastal States Stability Mechanism in West Africa

The United States Assistant Secretary Anne Witkowsky and the Germany Director-General Markus Potzel will then lead a special interagency delegation of U.S and German officials to Ghana to advance ongoing cooperative efforts to promote stability in Coastal West Africa.

The delegation will travel to northern Ghana to launch the Coastal States Stability Mechanism (CSSM), which was co-developed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Germany.

They will also discuss Coastal States Stability Mechanism initiatives to expand and improve government delivery of critical services and support efforts to promote social and economic resilience in the face of instability and conflict.

The delegation will meet with local government officials, traditional leaders, and civil society representatives to discuss further collaboration on enhancing security, preventing conflict, and promoting long-term stability in Northern Ghana.

Later in Accra, the delegation will meet with Ghanaian officials to discuss shared priorities for countering violent extremism and enhancing cooperation through the Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability.

Earlier the U.S Assistant Secretary Witkowsky led an interagency delegation to Berlin, in Germany for the second U.S.–Germany Conflict Prevention and Stabilization Dialogue.

It was hosted by Germany’s Director-General for Crisis Prevention, Stabilization, Peacebuilding, and Humanitarian Assistance.

During this dialogue they discussed areas of shared interest and cooperation, including activities under the U.S Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability. 

The Assistant Secretary will also take part in the third plenary of the Berlin Climate Security Conference, where she will underscore the growing intersection of conflict prevention and climate-related efforts, advocating for integrated approaches as outlined in the newly released U.S. Framework for Climate Resilience and Security.

 Also, while in Berlin, the Assistant Secretary participated in a joint roundtable meeting with Director-General Potzel which was co-hosted by U.S. Embassy Berlin and the German Council on Foreign Relations focused on women, peace, and security.

A week earlier the United States and Ghana convened a joint security dialogue in Washington. 

Led by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Ghanaian Minister of National Security Albert Kan-Dapaah, U.S. and Ghanaian officials discussed international peace and security and explored areas for further security collaboration, including how to advance the Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability in Coastal West Africa. 

The U.S.-Ghanaian partnership recognizes the importance of our shared values of democracy, prosperity, security, and respect for human rights to promote stability and sustainable development.

The United States and Ghana expressed a desire to build on this foundational relationship in the coming months to prevent conflict and promote inclusive economic growth. 

Both sides welcomed greater U.S.-Ghana security cooperation to address the evolving regional violent extremist threats and affirmed the importance of integrating security efforts with broader activities to strengthen governance, development, and social cohesion in vulnerable areas. 

Concerned about the potential for information manipulation as a transnational security threat, the United States and Ghana agreed to strengthen cooperation to combat misinformation and dis-information. 

The United States also announced additional support to respond to the recent drought in Ghana.