Ghana, Netherlands sign agreement to combat cocaine and illegal drug markets

Nii Ayitey Brown 13:46 - 17 August 2026

Add Pulse as a preferred source on Google

Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (right) signing the agreement with Dutch Minister for Justice and Security, David Van Weel (left) during his official visit to Ghana.

Ghana and the Netherlands have signed a Letter of Intent to strengthen cooperation in combating illicit drugs, drug trafficking and criminal networks.

Ghana and the Netherlands have signed an agreement to jointly combat illicit drugs and drug markets.
The partnership will focus on tackling cocaine, synthetic drugs and criminal money linked to the illicit drug trade.
The agreement builds on the Accra Call to Action and strengthens cooperation between the two countries.

Ghana and the Netherlands have signed a special Letter of Intent to strengthen cooperation against illicit drugs, drug trafficking networks and the criminal money generated from the trade.

Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced the agreement after signing it with Dutch Minister for Justice and Security David Van Weel during his official visit to Ghana.

“Ghana and the Netherlands have signed a special Letter of Intent to jointly combat illicit drugs and drug markets,” Ablakwa said on X (formerly twitter).

He said the agreement would build on the Accra Call to Action, adopted in November 2025 following a high-level dialogue on the growing drug market in West Africa.

The dialogue brought together Ghana, the Netherlands and international partners to examine threats linked to synthetic drugs, cocaine and criminal finance.

“Building on the Accra Call to Action, our two countries hope to offer global leadership on this crucial matter which is destroying young lives, undermining public health, damaging the rule of law and terribly affecting human rights,” Ablakwa said.

He added that Ghana and the Netherlands were confident that stronger international cooperation could disrupt drug markets supplying cocaine, synthetic drugs and illicit funds across their jurisdictions.

“We are confident that genuine and reliable international collaboration will eliminate drug markets flooding our countries with cocaine, synthetics and criminal money.“

The agreement follows Ghana's efforts to prevent the country from being used as a transit point for narcotics. The Ghana-Netherlands agreement adds a bilateral framework to an expanded regional effort to disrupt the movement of drugs and the criminal networks and financial systems that support the trade.