Ghana is expected to host some British ministers this week to draw up a new security agreement after Britain withdrew its peacekeepers from Mali.

A total of 300 peacekeepers were removed from Mali in the face of bands of Russian mercenaries and jihadist groups.

Former Africa Minister Rory Stewart, while interacting with The Telegraph, said, “we struggled to maintain 300 troops in Mali, partly because it cost perhaps as much as a hundred million pounds from tightly stretched budgets. I fear that the 'pivot to Ghana and Burkina Faso' is largely a way of excusing our retreat from the Sahel and will ultimately add up to less than people pretend.”

Minister for the Armed Forces, James Heappey, is also expected to touch down in Accra.

Africa Director of Chatham House, Alex Vines, has noted that Britain will be concentrating on the Accra Initiative, a coalition involving Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, and Togo, to stop insecurity spilling over their borders from the Sahel.

Ghana, which is deeply worried about the anarchy spreading across Burkina Faso, participated in the recent Accra Initiative conference held from November 17–22.

Two levels of the conference; non-states member conference and ministerial session took place at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC), while the third level was held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra.

It is unclear what the role of the troops is in Ghana, however, the country is strengthening its security measures against terrorist attacks.

Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has already warned that terrorists may turn their attention to Ghana due to its mineral resources, such as gold.

The 300 troops from the Royal Scot Dragoon Guards and Royal Irish Regiment, until their withdrawal, were meant to lead a revamped, highly mobile 14,000-strong peacekeeping force in Mali acting under the command of the United Nations (UN).

Source: The Independent Ghana