President of the Republic, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo will be meeting the Ivorian President, Alassane Outtara at the Flagstaff House on Monday, 16 October 2017.

The visit by the Ivorian president to Ghana comes at a time when Ghana and Ivory Coast have committed to boosting inter-regional trade and shared key bilateral friendships.

Ahead of the president’s visit to Ghana, there have been some official preparations including the closure of specific major roads in the capital of Accra.

Even though this closed door meeting between both presidents would see topical issues discussed away from the cameras of the press, YEN brings you these topical issues that both heads of state may consider talking about:

1. ITLOS ruling.

It has been a long time coming for Ghana and Ivory Coast when it comes to the 4 to 5-year maritime boundary dispute which saw both countries heading to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Now that we have learnt how Ghana won this landmark ruling, we also learn that Nana Addo had planned to meet with the Ivorian leader on the best way forward for both countries. The purpose of their meeting could see both leaders explore the best ways they could reap the gains of the disputed oil fields.

2. Determination of Cocoa prices on the world market

There is no doubt in our minds that Ghana and Ivory Coast are the leading producers of Cocoa in the world. With Ivory Coast taking the lead in this sector, President Akufo-Addo has registered his interest in engaging Alassane Ouattara on the best ways of collaboration to remain a unified force in the world market whenever it comes to cocoa pricing.

“Together, we produce 65% of the world’s cocoa, and if we work together and coordinate our policies, we can protect our farmers and guarantee a better life for them,” Nana Addo had stated in a recent visit to Ivory Coast.

This, according to Nana Addo, would also lead to the menace of cocoa smuggling from Ghana to Ivory Coast in that regard. YEN is confident that the issue of Cocoa will be raised in the closed door meeting between both countries.

3. Signing of a strategic partnership

This partnership between Ghana and Ivory Coast is expected to achieve the purpose of “even close intimacy...which is the conventional tool for co-operation” especially when both leaders have been championing calls for an open market in the West African trade market.

4. Fulani crisis

One of the outstanding issues between Ghana and Ivory Coast remains that of the Fulani crisis where herdsmen mainly from the Ivory Coast are feared to cause havoc here in Ghana by violating various laws and shoring up cases of insecurity.

YEN had earlier reported of how the Ghana-Mandarin border in the Northern Region had been barricaded, a development which saw hundreds of Fulani herdsmen and their families escaping the political violence in Ivory Coast in 2016 stranded.

The security measure taken by the Ghana army has also seen portions of the Black Volta River and the Mandarin Nsunua community in the Bole district strictly under surveillance. Both presidents may want to consider this issue of Fulani herdsmen once and for all.

5. Economic boom

The meeting between the presidents of Ghana and Ivory Coast cannot be complete without mentioning the urge by both leaders to strengthen trade ties through cross-border investments and partnerships.

Ivory Coast remains one of the economic superpowers besides Nigeria in West Africa considering the massive transformation the country underwent in the past 5 to 10 years.

It will be in Nana Addo’s best interest to explore the best ways that Ghana could benefit from the economic success of the Afro-Francophone economy.