Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Alban S.K. Bagbin has made a passionate appeal for bilateral and multilateral relations across the world to halt the influence and expansion of violent extremism.
According to him, such cooperation has become imperative to protect territorial integrity and democracy in a world that is witnessing mounting conflicts and terrorism.
At a meeting with the Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly Vladimir Orlic on Friday 14th October, 2022 on the sidelines of the the145th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly in Kigali, Mr. Alban Bagbin expressed concerns that the upsurge in the activities of religious extremists like Boko Haram is destroying democracy in the Sahel Region and pushing the inhabitants further into poverty.
He pointed to the threat posed by Boko Haram that is causing havoc in Nigeria as well as the impact of climate change, which has triggered floods in Nigeria and Cameroun and killed hundreds of people.
He averred that the threats of invasion by extremist groups like Boko Haram as well as piracy attacks require urgent collaboration to stop the threats to democratic values and norms.
“The escalation of tension in the world today, particularly with the threats of invasion by fundamentalists require us to collaborate together and be able to save our territorial integrity.”
“We need to improve our relationship, enhance cooperation and inter-country bilateral relations to be able to keep these things under control,” he stated.
According to him, in the past, France supported a number of countries to push back against fundamentalists and yet today it is under attack from these colonial countries in Africa.
Speaker Bagbin mentioned how two days ago extremists attacked the Institute of Languages in Burkina Faso and added, “So, there is a rise by the Islamic jihadists who are trying to infiltrate and Ghana is really under attack.”
He indicated that the fragile economies of Africa are now overstretched and collapsing, including the economy of Ghana.
He acknowledged how Serbia has been caught up in the war between Russia and Ukraine and stressed that African countries are not immune from the impact of that war.
Mr. Vladimire Orlic, in response, emphasized the need for the two countries to work and support each other, particularly in the areas of technology, agriculture, culture, education and scholarships.
He expressed delight that Serbia has opened its embassy in Accra again.
This, he said, happened really fast, being the first embassy Serbia has opened after several decades in Africa.
“This confirms our dedication to work and strengthen our relation,” he said.
Majority leader Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu in his remarks expressed worry about how neighbouring Burkina Faso has lost over 50 per cent of its territory to jihadists.
The terrorist group, he said, are now pushing southward with Ghana becoming ‘a destined target.’
He said, “The French have been lending support to their former colonial states but they have relaxed, which is why Mali is now almost gone and Niger and Chad are under fierce attack.”
“About six months ago, the jihadists came as close as 17 kilometres to the northern boundary of Ghana. This is the reason why we need the collaboration of friends to protect the territorial integrity of our country,” he added.