President John Dramani Mahama has warned that escalating military confrontations in the Middle East could trigger severe economic shocks across Africa, urging leaders on the continent to brace for potential fallout.
Speaking during bilateral talks with Samia Suluhu Hassan at the State House in Arusha, President Mahama said recent attacks involving the United States, Israel and Iran had created a new geopolitical reality with possible global consequences.
He cautioned that the Middle East remains the epicentre of global oil supplies and that any sustained disruption could drive crude oil prices upward, negatively impacting African economies already vulnerable to external shocks. He stressed the need for proactive measures to protect citizens from rising fuel costs and broader cost-of-living pressures.
President Mahama was in Arusha as special guest of honour for the official opening of the 2026 Legal Year and the 20th anniversary celebration of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He encouraged African nations yet to ratify the court’s protocol to do so, urging pride in continental institutions.
On bilateral relations, the Ghanaian leader underscored the need to establish a permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation between Ghana and Tanzania to deepen economic ties ahead of a possible state visit.
Highlighting Ghana’s economic direction, President Mahama said the country had adopted a more assertive approach to managing its natural resources, particularly gold. He noted that reforms in the small-scale mining sector had increased gold exports from 63 tonnes to 104 tonnes within nine months, generating approximately $10 billion in revenue.
He also outlined plans to boost local value addition in agriculture, announcing that from the next cocoa season, at least 400,000 tonnes of Ghana’s nearly 700,000-tonne crop would be processed domestically to reduce reliance on foreign financing arrangements.
As the African Union Champion on Reparations, President Mahama further revealed that a resolution seeking recognition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade as a crime against humanity would be tabled at the United Nations General Assembly on March 25, 2026.
President Hassan, for her part, reaffirmed the longstanding ties between Ghana and Tanzania, referencing the historic relationship between Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere. She highlighted Tanzania’s economic growth rate of about six per cent, with inflation between 3.5 and four per cent, and outlined her government’s focus on value addition, youth development and climate resilience.
The leaders pledged to strengthen cooperation as Africa navigates a rapidly shifting global landscape.