UK Home Secretary Priti Patel and Ghana’s Minister for National Security Albert Kan-Dapaah met for talks in Accra during her two day visit to Ghana. At the inaugural security dialogue, they reaffirmed both nations commitment to tackling important shared challenges through deepening the law enforcement partnerships in both countries, particularly around community policing and accountability.
Interior Minister Ambrose Dery and Attorney General Godfred Dame also joined the discussion, where all agreed on the importance of giving young people in Ghana the freedom to succeed and not fall into a life of crime or be groomed by terrorist groups, and the Home Secretary committed to further UK investment in Ghana to support this.
Both nations also committed to establishing two working groups to co-ordinate activity on local security such as violent extremism, and organised crime, including immigration crime, money laundering, gold and cocaine smuggling, and online fraud.
Home Secretary, Priti Patel said:
The UK and Ghana have a strong and established relationship that goes back many years and this is not just a partnership, but a friendship. We must continue to work closely together to tackle the organised criminal networks that operate across borders. Our new security dialogue will ensure we work closer together to crack down on these abhorrent gangs, making the UK and Ghana safer.
At the security dialogue, the Home Secretary also recognised the achievements of long-standing security cooperation that has led to Ghana making progress to be delisted from the International Financial Action Task Force’s money laundering ‘grey-list’.
National Security Minister, Kan-Dapaah said:
The UK and Ghana have strong and historical bonds, and I welcome the new Security Dialogue between our two nations to deepen that collaboration. This new approach will allow us to work together the tackle the threat of terrorism and organised crime across the region, and ensure global peace security.
The Home Secretary also met with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at Jubilee House to deepen the strong and established relationship that goes back many years.
Home Secretary Priti Patel unveils Immigration Taskforce Office
Whilst in Accra, the Home Secretary officially opened the Home Office funded Ghana Immigration Taskforce Office. The new office will house a dedicated team of investigators working to tackle organised immigration crime in Ghana as well as combating document fraud and ensuring that the perpetrators of immigration crime are brought to justice.
During the visit the Home Secretary also saw first-hand the successes of the joint work between UK and Ghanaian law enforcement in improving airport security at a demonstration at Kotoka International Airport.
The multi-agency ‘live’ operation saw officers from the Narcotics Control Commission and Ghana Immigration Service partnering with UK Border Force, the National Crime Agency, and Immigration Enforcement to demonstrate a range of tactics such as the use of dogs, body scanners, and interdiction techniques.
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