Defence Minister calls for stronger security cooperation to tackle emerging threats

The Minister for Defence, Mr Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, has called for stronger inter-agency and regional cooperation to enable Ghana to respond to the growing and complex security threats confronting the country and the West African sub-region.

He said threats such as violent extremism, illicit arms trafficking, cybercrime, illegal mining, piracy and transborder crime required security institutions to work more closely and share intelligence to strengthen national and regional preparedness.

Mr Adjei made the call at the 50th Anniversary Joint Graduation ceremony of students of the Senior Command and Staff Course (SCSC) 47, Master of Science in Defence and International Politics (MDIP) and Master of Science in Security Studies (MSS) at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) at Teshie, Accra.

The ceremony, held at Hamidu Hall on Friday, marked the successful completion of the professional and academic programmes by 123 students, comprising officers of the Ghana Armed Forces, allied African countries and personnel from the public and civil sectors.

Mr Adjei, who represented the Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, congratulated the graduates and urged them to apply the knowledge and competencies acquired at the College with professionalism, integrity and dedication.

He said the changing security environment demanded a continuous review of strategies and approaches to ensure that Ghana remained prepared to deal with emerging threats.

The defence minister also stressed the importance of embracing emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, digitalisation and cybersecurity, to strengthen the country's defence and security capabilities.

“Intelligence sharing remained critical to identifying and responding to security threats, particularly those that transcended national borders,” he noted.

Mr Adjei commended the GAFCSC for continuously reviewing its curriculum to respond to contemporary security challenges and expanding its academic programmes to strengthen professional military and strategic education.

He added that the training of security and public-sector professionals was essential to developing the leadership and expertise required to manage increasingly complex security environments.