Ghana and Ivory Coast held their first summit

Accra and Yamoussoukro have agreed to strengthen their defense and security cooperation to address regional threats, South African radio SABC reported after the meeting of the presidents of the two countries, which took place in Abidjan as part of the first bilateral summit under the Strategic Partnership Agreement.The militants of radical groups are trying to expand their activities from the interior of West Africa to the Atlantic coast. For these purposes, they are now deploying their military operations on the territory of coastal countries, which affects the interests of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, local experts note.The parties expressed the intention to complete as soon as possible the creation of a single regional currency for members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), called Eco.Furthermore, the heads of state said they were willing to increase the rate of cocoa refining on the national territory to 80% by 2030.The summit was chaired by Ivorian leader Alassane Ouattara.B urkina Faso Information Agency With TASSSource: Burkina Information Agency