India, Ghana to enhance security, defence ties

The Joint Statement issued by the two sides said that while India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism for a long time, Ghana is situated in an increasingly volatile region.

"International terrorism is a scourge, and is a threat to the entire civilised world. The two leaders therefore agreed for greater security and defence cooperation and also called for greater exchanges between the Kofi Annan UN Peacekeeping Centre, Accra, and the Centre for UN Peacekeeping, New Delhi," the Joint Statement said as President Pranab Mukherjee wrapped up his two-day visit to the African country.

Ghana, situated in West Africa, is facing threats from ISIS and Boko Haram militants who have established their presence in the neighbouring countries.

President Mukherjee discussed a number of issues with his counterpart John Mahama.

After wrapping up his two-day visit to Ghana, Mukherjee departed for Ivory Coast for the second leg of his three-nation tour seen as "outreach for Africa".

A number of announcements were made by Mukherjee during his visit to help Ghana in capacity building and human resource development including further grant assistance of USD one million to the India-Ghana Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT which has been set up with Indian assistance of USD 2.86 million.

India also announced an increase in ITEC slots from 250 to 300 and ICCR full time scholarships from 20 to 40, each year, it said.