By: Celestine Avi and Seth Eyiah
President John Mahama has called for a fundamental reimagining of global alliances, urging world leaders to move beyond outdated blocs and rivalries toward partnerships grounded in solidarity, shared responsibility, and collective progress.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit 2026 in Dubai, President Mahama entreated heads of state, international organisation leaders, and policymakers that the world stands at a pivotal moment, one defined by rapid transformation, shifting geopolitics, and deep global interconnectedness.
According to him, the key question confronting the international community is no longer whether alliances will survive, but whether they can evolve fast enough to respond to today’s complex and interlinked challenges.
He noted that traditional alliances were largely forged in response to military confrontations, geopolitical rivalries, and economic competition. However, he argued that such frameworks are no longer sufficient in an era marked by climate change, food and energy insecurity, terrorism, global health threats, fragile supply chains, technological disruption, and widening inequality.
“These challenges do not respect borders and cannot be solved by unilateral action,” President Mahama stresses, adding that cooperation is no longer a choice but an imperative.
Africa at the Centre of a New Global Order
A central pillar of President Mahama’s address is Africa’s growing strategic importance in shaping the future global order. He rejected narratives that portray the continent merely as a theatre for competition, instead presenting Africa as a continent of solutions, opportunity, and rising influence. With the world’s youngest population, vast natural resources, expanding innovation ecosystems, and a market of over 1.3 billion people, he said Africa will be decisive in defining the global economy of the 21st century. For this reason, future global alliances, he argued, cannot be meaningfully designed without Africa at the table.
President Mahama emphasized that Africa is open to partnerships not just for trade, but for transformation, alliances that build industries, strengthen supply chains, and create shared prosperity. He highlighted the Accra Reset initiative, convened across Accra, New York, and Davos, as a roadmap for transitioning Africa from aid dependence to trade-driven and investment-led global partnerships.
At the same time, he acknowledged that Africa must also reset itself, underscoring accountable governance, transparency, strong institutions, respect for human rights, and selfless leadership as essential foundations for credible and sustainable alliances.
Ghana’s Economic Vision and Resource Sovereignty
Turning to Ghana’s domestic reforms, President Mahama outlined his government’s determination to ensure that Africa’s natural resources translate into real economic value for its people. He cited the establishment of Goldbod, which he says has generated over US$10 billion in less than a year, as evidence of Ghana’s commitment to resource sovereignty and value addition.
Ghana’s medium- to long-term vision, he explained, is to process and add value to minerals and agricultural products, including gold, manganese, bauxite, lithium, petroleum, cocoa, oil palm, cashew, cassava, fruits, and soya, rather than exporting raw materials.
The President also commended the growing Ghana–UAE and Africa–Gulf partnerships, describing them as an emerging pillar of the new global order and a model for mutually beneficial economic diplomacy.
Security, Stability, and Regional Cooperation
President Mahama warned that development cannot be sustained without peace, particularly in West Africa, where terrorism and instability in parts of the Sahel continue to pose serious threats. He reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to regional peace and democratic stability through ECOWAS, stressing that security in the sub-region is indivisible.
He disclosed that Ghana recently convened a High-Level Consultative Conference on Regional Cooperation and Security in late January 2026, bringing together heads of state and regional institutions. The meeting, he said, produced renewed consensus on collective security, counter-terrorism, border cooperation, humanitarian response, and human-centred governance as foundations for lasting peace in West Africa.
Technology, Climate Justice, and Multilateralism
Looking to the future, President Mahama highlighted the transformative impact of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and digital systems, cautioning that governance has failed to keep pace with innovation. While Ghana has made progress in digital transformation through mobile financial services, national identification systems, and e-governance, he warned against a digital future dominated by a few privileged nations.
Future alliances, he said, must promote ethical AI governance, cybersecurity cooperation, technology transfer, and inclusive digital capacity-building to prevent new forms of inequality.
On climate change, President Mahama underscored the injustice facing Africa, which contributes the least to global emissions but suffers disproportionately from climate impacts. He called for climate action to be matched with climate justice, including the fulfilment of commitments on climate finance and equitable energy transitions. The President cited the US$30 million Ghana–UAE climate partnership as a practical example of forward-looking global cooperation.
A Call to Renew Multilateralism
President Mahama defended multilateralism, acknowledging that the post-war rules-based international system is under strain from rising unilateralism. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that the system can be renewed through fairness, representation, and sustained dialogue.
President John Mahama reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to an international order based on cooperation rather than confrontation, rules rather than coercion, and shared progress rather than zero-sum rivalry.
Ultimately, he said, the future of global alliances is not just about treaties and institutions, but about the kind of world nations choose to build, one where cooperation triumphs over division and countries rise together, not apart.
